Protector
by Ayame77
Summary: As Naruto lays dying, Kyuubi makes a decision, and Naruto may get a second chance to achieve his dream-to protect all of his precious people and break the cycle of hatred. Oh, and don't forget become the greatest Hokage. Naru/Saku
1. The End, The Beginning

Rough winds whipped along the barren earth. Two lone figures stood across from each other, panting. The battle field was strewn with the corpses of friend and foe, and tears streamed down the face of one of the figures, a young man with blonde hair sticking up in every direction. The man and his adversary charged each other in one final clash, determined to win. The young man was blown back, his strength leaving him. He coughed blood as he lay on the ground, staring at all his precious friends whom he had sworn to protect, all of whom had died protecting him. As he lay dying, Naruto thought of all the things he regretted in his life, of all the people he couldn't save. In the end, he couldn't save anyone. He turned to his opponent.

"Sasu…ke…what do you want… with a world in which… there is no one else?" He asked his adversary. The other man did not answer his question, merely stepped toward him, hand cloaked in lightning.

"I see… Goodbye… Sasuke… I hope… you find… what you are… looking for," he breathed out as the man shoved his lightning-covered hand through Naruto's chest, blood-red eye spinning wildly.

* * *

Panicked shouts resounded through the air. Tangible fear radiated off the shinobi standing before a large orange fox. Many ninja frantically threw kunai and shuriken at the demon, while others blasted jutsu. Nothing worked.

"We can't hold it back much longer! We need to seal it!" shouted one towards the front.

"When is Yondaime-sama going to be here?" questioned another.

Just as the question was asked, a gigantic red toad dropped from the sky. On its head stood a blonde man with an infant in his arms, his white cloak billowing behind him. He told the toad something and the toad jumped at the large fox and held it down. The blonde man moved through hands seals and immediately he and the fox disappeared.

The man and the fox reappeared outside of the village walls, the man still clutching the infant as he ran towards a small shack. Inside, he grabbed a young, red-haired woman and was back outside with a flash of yellow, just before the shack exploded, hit by an attack from the Kyuubi.

"Alright, Kyuubi," the man addressed the fox, while handing the infant to the young woman, "I'm sealing you away again. I won't let you harm this village as long as I live!" With that, he began to run through a new set of hand seals.

"NO!" the woman shouted, "don't do it, Minato!" She ran forward and grabbed his arm, turning him to face her. "There has to be another way!" Minato shook his head and gave her a sad smile. He turned back towards Kyuubi, starting his seal sequence over, but stopped in his tracks. The great Kyuubi no Kitsune was… giggling?

"Hehe, Oh but there is another way! Minato… are you really going to waste your life by using your Shiki Fuin when there's a much simpler solution? And they called you a genius… hahaha," the fox laughed, pointing a claw at the blonde man. Minato raised an eyebrow.

"And this simpler solution is?" He asked, barely hiding his interest.

"Well, you want half of me sealed in your son and half of me sealed in you, right?" Minato nodded. Kyuubi turned to the red-haired woman. "Then have Kushina here separate my Yin and Yang halves and perform the Hakke Fuin on one half to seal it in you. Then you can use the same seal on my other half and Naruto."

"Why are you helping me?" Minato asked.

"That's simple. Your son Naruto is going to change the world, I can feel it. I don't wan't you to die, because he needs parents to guide him on his path so he doesn't turn to the darkness of the hatred infused in my chakra."

"And why do you care?"

"I was created by the Rikudo Sennin to protect this world, and I'll do that, by protecting Naruto."

"If you think like that, why were you attacking my village?"

"Have you already forgotten the masked man who was controlling me? He manipulated the hatred in me born of the way humans treated me. Humans treat Bijuu as tools for them to use how they please, and we eventually grew bitter. But I have a feeling your young Naruto will change the way people see us." Minato nodded.

"I'll do it. Kushina, do you have enough chakra?"

"Yes, I can do it, dattebane." She smiled and performed her hand seals. She then placed one hand on the giant fox's paw and one on her husband's chest.

"Hakke Fuin," she whispered. Minato felt the Kyuubi's potent chakra surging into his chakra pathways and buckled over. The Kyuubi spoke in his head, 'I will slowly channel small amounts of my chakra into your system for you to get used to it, meanwhile you should use most of it to seal my other half in Naruto.' Minato nodded while standing up and going through the same hand seals Kushina had. He placed one hand on Naruto's stomach and the other on the noticeably smaller Kyuubi.

"Hakke Fuin," he said. The Kyuubi started to be pulled toward Naruto, turning into a ball of red chakra, which was absorbed by the infant. White light surrounded Naruto and a seal formed on his belly. The baby wailed and curled up into himself, but was quickly picked up by Kushina. The young mother held her son to her and sobbed into his hair.

"Oh, Naruto, you're already so strong…," Minato placed his hand on her shoulder and pulled her and the baby into a hug. Tired but happy, Kushina and Minato smiled as they leaned against each other, cradling their newborn son.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside Naruto's mindscape, he was panicking.

'Kurama? Kurama! Hey, Kurama, where am I? What's going on? Am I dead already? Answer me, dammit! Kurama!'

He looked around, finding the same sewer pipes he always had. It was all too weird. He had died. Sasuke had killed him, along with everyone else. So why was he here? Why wasn't he seeing his parents, or Sakura-chan, or Hokage-jiji? He then felt a familiar chakra presence fill the air.

'Kurama! You are here! What happened?'

'Ah, Gaki. It's good to be back.'

'What do you mean? Where were you?'

'I brought us back in time, to the day you were born.'

Silence. Then Naruto shouted, 'YOU WHAT?!'

'I said I brought our souls back to the day you were born. I just got sealed into you in this timeline. That's why you couldn't find me earlier.'

'Does that mean I have to live my whole childhood alone all over again?'

'Actually, I have a little surprise for you. Open your eyes.'

'Okay, if you say so, but I'll want my answers later, Kurama.'

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes back in the physical world and blinked. Everything was blurry, but he could see red and yellow. The more he blinked, the clearer the image became, until he could clearly see both his parents holding him, looking tired but otherwise fine, and very much alive. He smiled like he hadn't in years, a true smile from the bottom of his heart. He then grabbed on to them and clung to them.

'I'll have to do something for Kurama some time. This is the best birthday present in the world.'

Naruto once again smiled at his parents then allowed himself to sleep. He was oh so… tired…

* * *

Kushina and Minato smiled at their son as he smiled back, clutching their clothes. He then closed his eyes and fell asleep and the two new parents shared a look, then began laughing.

'Thank you, Kyuubi.' Minato thought.

Minato leaned towards Kushina and said, "I suppose we'll be able to see our son grow up after all."

"Yeah, I can't wait, 'ttebane!"

The two then collapsed from exhaustion just as the Sandaime Hokage found them.

"Minato! Kushina!" he shouted. The medical team he had brought ran forward towards the couple, fearing the worst. The head medic knelt to check their pulses and gasped in surprise, then smiled.

"Yondaime-sama and Kushina-sama are going to be fine. They just fainted from both physical and chakra exhaustion and should be fine after a few days of rest," the medic stated. Sandaime sighed from relief.

"But how?"

"Look here," the medic lifted Minato's shirt and pointed to Naruto's belly, showing the fading seal markings on both of them. Sandaime gaped.

"B… but… an adult's chakra pathways can't adjust to that much new chakra… It's impossible… How could Minato become a Jinchuuriki?"

"I guess it's not impossible. It seems that only small amounts of chakra are leaking out while the rest is contained, allowing him to adjust. It's a masterful seal," said the medic, "we should get them to the hospital, though, and let them rest."

"Yes, that would be best. I'll step in as Hokage until Minato is ready to come back."

The medic nodded. "We'll take them immediately, Sandaime-sama." The medics picked up the new family and rushed off, while the Sandaime walked toward his temporary office at a slower pace.

'How did they do it? Those two… always more surprises… I wonder if that's how young Naruto will be…'

A/N: The first chapter of my second story. Hope you enjoy!


	2. Naruto's Childhood

Minato woke on a hospital bed, a tray of food on his bedside table. When the nurse came in, the first thing he did was ask about Kushina and Naruto. When the nurse was done checking up on him and deemed him fit to move, she brought him to Kushina's room. Kushina was propped up against some pillows, red hair curtaining her face, and holding Naruto to her. Minato moved slowly and sat next to her on the bed, careful not to wake his sleeping son. His son. It was still weird to say, but every time he said it he felt pride swell in his chest. It was his and Kushina's son, and he was already one of the strongest people he knew. He did not know why Kyuubi had had a change of heart, but he felt nothing but gratitude. He would get to watch his son grow up, with his beautiful wife. Kushina looked up and smiled at him. A beautiful, radiant smile, only one of the reasons he had first fallen for her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she leant towards him. They sat like that for a while, until a nurse came in.

"Yondaime-sama, Kushina-sama, we ran our tests, and we have some good news and some bad news." Minato immediately tensed, expecting the worst.

"Calm down, Yondaime-sama. There is no immediate danger." Minato visibly relaxed.

"Tell us," he said quietly.

"I'll start with the good news. You, Kushina-sama and the baby are all stable and will live long lives yet." Minato and Kushina smiled. Their baby was fine. There were no complications with the sealing. He would be fine, and so would they. "Now on to the bad news. Kushina-sama, the combined stress on your body from birthing and the Kyuubi being drawn out does have a lasting effect. I regret to inform you of this, but you won't be having any more children, Kushina-sama." Kushina smiled sadly.

"Then we'll just pour all the love we have into our little Naruto-kun," she exclaimed with conviction. Minato nodded and smiled at his wife.

"Then you are free to return to your home." The new parents nodded and Minato helped Kushina up. As they walked towards their house and grounds, they couldn't help but feel as though they were the happiest people alive.

* * *

As Minato and Kushina watched Naruto, they noticed how intelligent he seemed. He would always clearly point at what he wanted, no extra flailing movements. He would never cry or whine, and always listened to what they told him. But sometimes he would look so spaced out, as if there were something happening deep inside his head. Also, for how intelligent and quiet he sometimes seemed, he was still one of the most cheerful, energetic, and kind-hearted children they had every met. And when either mentioned ramen, even all the way across the house, he would come running. And this made them very proud. It would seem their son loved ramen just as much as they did. And he seemed to have sharp hearing skills as well, very useful for a ninja. Naruto had first taken interest in being a ninja at the young age of 10 months. He had come with Minato to his office and had become obsessed with all things ninja, quietly observing all their movements, jutsu, postures, and all the things they carried. And so they had reluctantly decided it was okay for him to become one. Minato had figured it was inevitable, considering how attached both he and Kushina were to being ninja, but Kushina had still been very protective of Naruto.

* * *

Naruto was turning 1, and he and his parents were sitting in their living room. They were talking and Naruto was listening. They finished their conversation and were sitting in silence as Naruto sat on the floor observing them. He then stood up and sat between them, uttering just two words.

"Mom. Dad."

Minato and Kushina were shocked, to say the least. Their son had just spoken his first words, and their had been no stuttering, no baby-like 'mommy' or 'dada', just 'mom, dad', and those two words held so much strength and conviction. There was so much deep and unconditional love behind those two simple words that Minato and Kushina were left speechless. Tears of joy streamed down their faces as they stared at their son. How could a 1-year-old feel such deep emotions? They leaned forward and hugged Naruto to them, still crying, and he hugged them back, tightly.

"That's right, Naru-kun, we're your Mom and Dad," said Kushina.

* * *

Right after Naruto began speaking, Kushina jumped on the opportunity to teach him. Now, just two years later, Naruto was talking as though he were 11. He would not only talk about what he wanted or needed, but he had conversations with them for fun. And long conversations at that. It was also the first time he asked about Minato's job.

"Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah, Naruto?"

"You're not a normal ninja. What is your job? Everyone calls you Yondaime-sama or Hokage-sama, and I've been curious for a while, 'ttebayo."

"Well, the Hokage of Konoha is a ninja who protects and cares for all the people in his village like family. He treats them all equally and would give his life to save the village, and he also does a whole lot of paperwork," Minato laughed. Naruto looked completely serious.

"Then I'm gonna be the next Hokage, dattebayo!" Minato and Kushina, who had just entered the room to announce dinner, smiled at their son.

"I don't doubt it," Kushina said, then turned scolding, "But first you should eat your dinner." Naruto jumped up from the couch and ran to the kitchen.

"Thanks, Mom! Itedakimasu!" Naruto began to quickly devour his dinner. When he had finished, he said, "First, you need to teach me how to read."

* * *

Naruto was four years old. And he was asking them to train him. Minato was grinning proudly at his son's enthusiasm and determination, and Kushina was freaking out.

"Are you serious, Naruto?" Kushina asked nervously, while Minato put a hand on her shoulder.

"I sure am! I've been reading all about tactics, and diplomacy, and history, and etiquette and all sorts of other Hokage-like things, and I can't learn more from just reading. I also read some books on Taijutsu forms and a few basic jutsu scrolls to learn the theory. I even snuck some of your Fuinjutsu books! I can't learn more like this! I need practical training, dattebayo!"

Kushina and Minato had to agree. They remembered how much Naruto had read, and all the times he had come to them with questions, some simple, some complex. He was always such a curious child, always trying new things, so they weren't too surprised he wanted actual training. Minato was the first to come out of his thoughts and responded.

"Sure, Naruto, we'll teach you the basics." Kushina glowered at her husband, but did not object. And so they began teaching Naruto to unlock his chakra.

One Day Later…

"Alright, I feel it flowing everywhere through my body, and there's a whole lot of it. Two kinds, actually." Minato and Kushina winced when he said the last part but quickly regained composure.

"Alright, next I want you to try to use your chakra to stick this leaf to you," said Minato and handed Naruto a leaf.

Ten Minutes Later…

"Like this?" Naruto asked. The leaf was sticking to his forehead. Minato and Kushina gaped at their son.

"Okay, now you make it spin," said Kushina, smirking.

"Okay," said Naruto, concentrating. "There!" he shouted excitedly. Sure enough, the leaf was spinning around on his forehead. Needless to say Minato and Kushina were shocked. However, they quickly got over it and smiled proudly at their only son.

* * *

It was one year since Naruto had started his training. They had focused on chakra control and Taijutsu, and he was quite accomplished in both. He could execute both their Taijutsu styles, though he wasn't a master. He had also quickly gotten into advanced chakra control exercises. He had learned tree walking and water walking in a day each, and had been doing very fine-tuned chakra control exercises, which was important with his large reserves of chakra. They had even started to teach him how to use chakra in his Taijutsu, something he was slower to master, but then again, it was quite difficult. This year they were going to start teaching him the three Academy Ninjutsu. It took him a week each for the Henge and the Kawarimi, but for some reason Bunshins were extremely difficult. After watching him struggle for two months, Minato decided to move on and try again later. And so they focused on Taijutsu, adding weights and a daily exercise routine, while having him continue fixing up his chakra control.

* * *

Naruto was six and had two years before he attended the academy. He was now wearing 60lb weights on his arms and 80lb weights on his legs. His chakra control was pretty great, for his age. It had been a long day of Taijutsu training and he was exhausted. Finished for the day, he, his mom, and his dad were sitting on a log in the quickly darkening training ground, staring at stars. It was these small moments that they all treasured the most; the moments in life when there was no training and no responsibility, just the three of them together. The cool air rustled the leaves and threaded its way through the grasses, swirling their hair into their faces. Naruto sat still, remembering all the things his parents had done for him. He remembered his mother yelling at some boys who were throwing stones at him. He remembered his father walking him to the park to play, like he'd seen so many fathers in his first life do for their kids. He remembered his mother and father cooking dinner in the Kitchen while singing silly songs in messed-up harmony. He remembered his father coming home grumpy and tired from a meeting but still remembering to say goodnight to him. He remembered his mother telling him stories of her homeland, Uzushiogakure. He remembered both of them sending him to play at Shikamaru's house, then bringing him home to a house decorated in streamers and shouting 'Happy Birthday, Naruto!'. He remembered them helping him with his studies and training, and he also remembered the times when they wouldn't help him; all of the times when they told him to get up on his own. It may have hurt, but it made him stronger, and whenever he accomplished what they had asked, they would tell him they believed in him, always.

"Mom, Dad, you know you're the greatest parents ever, right?" Naruto asked, wanting them to know just how grateful he was to them. Minato and Kushina just nodded and grinned, while in their heads they were screaming and jumping up and down for joy. They wrapped their arms around Naruto, while Kushina whispered, "And you are the greatest son ever." They stayed that way, arms around each other, staring up into the starry heavens until Naruto shivered. Minato and Kushina felt it and they stood up to go inside and have dinner, all of them smiling.

* * *

On his seventh birthday, Naruto was very happy. His dad had promised to teach him an alternate to the clone technique that would help him train faster and also pass the genin exam. He had a hunch as to what it was, and he was glad to be able to use his favorite technique again. He was humming as he walked down the street, musing over both his lives, and how much better this one had been. He was heading to a training ground to practice his own Taijutsu style which he was developing and also train without his weights to get used to his speed. As he rounded a corner, he heard the soft sound of sobbing, coming from what looked like a little girl. He walked towards her, and noticed she had pink hair. 'Sakura?'

"Hey there!" he called. She shied away from him. He sat down next to her, looking worried. "What's wrong? You seem sad."

"Do…do you think my forehead is too big?" she questioned cautiously.

"Why would I care what your forehead looks like?" he demanded. "I think that a person is only as beautiful as they are on the inside. If you had a completely deformed face but were the kindest person I'd met, you would still be beautiful to me. So no, I don't think your forehead is too big," he stated confidently. Sakura stared at him.

"Are you serious? You don't think I'm ugly or a 'Billboard Brow'?" she asked, almost desperate.

"Yes, I'm completely serious. You seem like a nice person, if a little shy, so just don't be afraid to be you," he told her, while plucking a wildflower and putting it in her hair. "Here, don't hide your face, and don't hide your heart. If you open up a bit you'll find true friends." He smiled a bright smile and stood up. She grabbed onto his hand and looked him in the eyes, almost pleadingly.

"Will you be my friend?" she asked.

"Course I will. I'm Naruto Namikaze, by the way."

"Sakura Haruno."

"So, will you be coming to the academy next year?" Sakura looked down and blushed.

"Yeah. I want to be a great Kunoichi!" she said, looking up with fire in her eyes at the second part, all shyness gone. Naruto grinned.

"Well then, good luck, Sakura-chan! I'll see you there," Naruto smiled and walked off to do his training. Sakura watched him, rooted to the spot, a small smile on her face.

* * *

Naruto was walking home after hanging out at the park with Shikamaru and Choji. As he passed a small lake, he spotted a familiar raven-haired boy sitting alone on the pier. 'This time I'll talk to him. I'm not gonna let the same thing happen again!'

"Hey there. The sunset over the lake is beautiful, isn't it?" Naruto asked while sitting down.

"Hn."  
Naruto and Sasuke sat in companionable silence watching the sun set. Twenty minutes later, Naruto snapped out of his daze and started.

"Oh man, I'm gonna be late. So, are you gonna be at the academy next week? Maybe I'll see you."

"I'll be there."

"Okay, so what's your name?"

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"Naruto Namikaze. See ya later, Sasuke!"

"Hn." With that, Naruto ran towards his house at full speed, proud of his day's accomplishment.

* * *

Naruto had been training hard for the last four years. He now was quite proficient in both his parents' Taijutsu styles, as well as pretty good with his own. His aim was good, with an average of about 90% accuracy. His chakra control was exceptional for an eight-year old, and he could finally make normal clones, although no less than 10. He sat in his room, checking through what he had packed. He was ready for the academy the next day, with his own set of kunai, shuriken, ninja wire, and explosive tags. He was also already friends with Shikamaru, Choji, Sakura, and Sasuke, and he had a feeling his time at the academy would be much more enjoyable than in his last life. His mother's voice startled him out of his thoughts.

"Naruto! Have you packed everything?"

"Yeah Mom!"

"That's good. Oh, I can't believe you're already going to the Academy! Time sure flies." Kushina remarked.

"It sure does," said Minato, who had just entered via the front door. "How's Naruto?"

"Excited."

"No nervousness?"

"No way, Dad! I've trained for four years already. I can do anything they throw at me!"

"Well, he sure is confident," Minato deadpanned.

"And he apparently has really good hearing, too."

"Hasn't he always had good hearing?"

"True."

"Don't talk about me behind my back! You know I can hear every word you say!"

"Exactly, so it isn't behind your back," Kushina said.

"You have me there,"

"Oh no! No secret is safe in this house anymore!" Minato cried, in mock distress.

"Oh, shut up you! You'll be fine! And don't say that out loud, he'll get suspicious!" Kushina scolded.

"Suspicious of what? What's Dad hiding?" asked Naruto as he entered.

"Nothing!" both parents shouted at once.

A/N: Second chapter, taking place over the course of eight years. Tell me what you think!


	3. Genin

Thin rays of sunlight slipped in through the pale orange curtains, casting patterns of light and shadow on the sleeping face of a 12-year-old boy. A beautiful red-haired woman entered the room and laid a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him. He groaned and rolled over, mumbling something along the lines of 'more sleep'.

"Get up, Naruto-kun. You wouldn't want to miss your graduation exam, would you?" the woman told the boy teasingly. He immediately sat up and jumped out of bed.

"I'm up, Mom! What's for breakfast?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? Get ready and it'll be on the table when you come down."

"No fair!" She gave him a look. "Oh fine, I'll get my stuff together." He stalked off to the bathroom, dragging his ninja gear behind him. His mother smiled and went down the stairs to make breakfast. Ten minutes later, Naruto came down the stairs dressed in his usual black netted shirt, black t-shirt with orange stripes, and black ANBU-style pants.

"Morning Mom, morning Dad. What's up?"

"Morning Naruto-kun. You ready for today?" his mother asked.

"You bet I am! All that training wasn't for nothing!"

"Hmm…oh, morning Naruto," stated a man's voice from behind a newspaper.

"Dad! Aren't you at all excited?"

"Hmm? No. I know you'll pass, I have complete faith in you and your skills. It just means you'll be home less. I won't get to see you as often, and I'll have to assign you dangerous missions. Not the most exciting thing for a father."

"Dad! Can't you at least pretend to be happy for me?"

"Who said I had to pretend. I am happy for you. I'm just not excited."

"You can be so confusing sometimes, Dad."

"It's my job. I am training you to be a ninja after all, and a ninja should have a sharp mind as well as a strong body."

"Eh-em. Breakfast," Naruto's mother interrupted, pointing at a plate piled high with sesame rice balls, dango drenched in sweet syrup, and fresh fruit. Naruto stared at the food in awe.

"It looks amazing!"

"It sure does, and it tastes the same. So eat up before you're late."

"Aww, Kushina, don't interrupt my lecture," whined Naruto's father.

"Shut it, Minato. Naruto needs to eat." Minato scowled but turned back to his newspaper.

"Alright Mom, Dad, as much as I love listening to your conversation, I have to go now," Naruto said after finishing his meal. Naruto's parents both waved to him as he rushed out the door and towards the academy.

The academy students were all sitting in their chairs trying to look attentive, hoping it would help their chances of passing their Genin exams, but in truth they were half asleep. They were used to listening to Iruka-sensei's lectures, but they were never this long, or this repetitive. He had been going on about how difficult the ninja world was but how he believed in every one of them for 40 minutes now. Naruto couldn't stand it any longer. He raised his hand.

"Yes Naruto?" Iruka asked, pausing his lecture.

"We get the point Iruka-sensei. We need to be careful as ninja but you think we have what it takes. Can we just take the test now?" Everyone else nodded in agreement. Iruka reluctantly agreed.

"Alright. The first part of this exam is a written test. I will now hand them out to you all." He picked up a stack of papers and began weaving through the desks handing them out. Naruto took his and stared at it intently. 'How many to get wrong? I want a definite passing grade, but I can't get them all either. There's 20 questions, so I'll get 4 wrong.' He nodded his head and began to work, sitting and thinking through each one. 'After my mom and dad helped me learn these facts and I read those books, these questions are a whole lot easier. It might also have something to do with doing this for a second time, but still…if only I had studied…' Naruto finished his test and set it down, eyes scanning the crowd. Quite a few of his classmates had already finished, but a good amount of them were still working, too. 'Good, right in the middle, just where I wanted.' Naruto smirked, leaning back in his chair for a short rest. Fifteen minutes later Iruka called the testing period to a halt and had them all bring their papers up to his desk, finished or not. He then gave them a half-hour lunch during which he graded the written test.  
Naruto walked outside to the swing where he always sat even in this life, and settled down on it, pulling out his homemade lunch. He sat still for a while, staring up at the sky and thinking over his second life so far. 'It's been much better already. I have mom and dad, and I've already become friends with Sakura-chan, as well as Shikamaru and Choji. Sasuke…I don't know for sure if he's a friend, but…I can't hold a grudge against an innocent. He hasn't done anything yet and hopefully never will, if I can help it. I'm gonna save Sasuke from the darkness in his heart. This time I won't be too late. I'll protect him and everyone else. I'm way stronger than I was at this age before, and I have way more general knowledge. I'm not as impulsive or rash, and I'm better at analyzing situations. I'll be able to accomplish my goals, this time.' Naruto smiled up at the bright blue sky, a determined look in his eyes, and turned back to his lunch, happily digging in. 'Mmm, ramen is the best…' He was snapped out of his ramen-savoring by Iruka-sensei calling them back for the second part of the test.  
Iruka took the students out to the training grounds and handed them each a set of ten kunai, ten shuriken, and ten senbon. They took their turns throwing the weapons at the targets with varying degrees of success, until it was Naruto's turn. He sized up the target, purposefully missing the center with two of the kunai, two of the shuriken and three of the senbon. He internally challenged himself to see if he could try to throw his off-target weapons at the exact spot he wanted. He mostly succeeded, except one senbon which missed by about two centimeters. Iruka nodded to him and he moved to sit on a bench near Sakura, pleased with his performance. He began to chat lightly with her as the rest of the class continued to show their skills, until one Sasuke Uchiha was called up, and Sakura's head immediately snapped up. She smiled as Sasuke proceeded to hit each of the targets dead-on. Naruto just rolled his eyes. 'So she still has a crush on the teme, interesting…and with the teme doing so well, I get free ramen…heh' Naruto smirked and Sakura looked at him strangely.

"Why are you smirking, Naruto?"

"Eh? Oh, I'm just happy for the teme is all, he'll be Rookie of the Year for sure if he keeps that up."

"Oh. Well I'm really happy for him too, but why does that make you smirk?"

"Cause it means I win my bet."

"Bet?"

"Yeah, I bet a bowl of ramen that Sasuke would be Rookie of the Year while Choji bet it would be Kiba. I'm gonna win and get a free bowl of ramen."

"How're you so sure? And should you really be placing bets?"

"I know Sasuke, and he'll go into exile before he comes in second. As for should I be placing bets…it's one bowl of ramen."

"I see. Well if you win your ramen, bring me and Sasuke with you to celebrate." With that, she got up and headed back towards the group of students that had finished throwing their weapons and were waiting for their spars with Iruka and his assistant Mizuki, the soon-to-be traitor. Naruto got up and headed after her, jaw still down near the floor. 'Did Sakura-chan just volunteer to hang out with me? Granted, Sasuke will be there, but still, in the old timeline she would've excluded me. I guess I've already changed quite a few things. Heh…' He continued watching as the students sparred against their senseis. All they had to do was last five minutes, and he was surprised how much trouble some of them had. Of course, the future Rookie 9 all did just fine, but many of the other students were pretty hopeless, barely lasting over a minute, and the sensei's weren't even fighting at their strongest. He sighed. These ninja wannabes would never survive if they made Genin.

"Namikaze Naruto." Naruto straightened up and walked towards Iruka, whom he was going to fight. He got in the stance for his mother's Taijutsu style, the one he always used at school, and waited for Iruka to make the first move.

Iruka was also staring him down, ready in the basic academy style dance, watching his movements. 'Naruto is being pretty smart. If a ninja is of a higher rank then you, you wait for them to make the first move so you can see how their mind works and what weapons or jutsu type they possess. In this circumstance, it's also useful because if I don't make a move he'll last the five minutes with no trouble, so he's forcing me to make the first move. Alright, Naruto, let's see what you've learned.' Iruka shifted just the tiniest bit, but Naruto caught it. However, he did not respond right away, and seemed to let Iruka's fist hit him in the head from the back. He then disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a battered log. 'Great use of Kawarimi. He wanted me to think I had him after he didn't move, seeming oblivious to my plan, and then was able to hide' thought Iruka, looking around him. He was then hit in the back with a quick punch and the stomach with a powerful kick. 'Shadow clones? But that's at least a Chuunin level, if not Jonin level technique. Mine was a simple clone' The two then began to exchange fists, and Naruto blocked every attack and even landed a few, but never pushed his advantage. 'It's a mistake not to push your advantage, but he's still pretty good. I suppose using the academy style which he knows and is able to predict against his style which is different wasn't the smartest idea. Oh well, it's just a test' The timer went off and they both stopped, both sweating slightly but otherwise fine.

"Nice, Naruto, although you forgot to push your advantage."

"Oh, right. I guess I was just thinking about keeping up, not winning."

"I see. Anyway, congratulations."

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei." Naruto once again joined Sakura on the bench to observe the other test-takers. Many of the prospective Genin were out quite quickly and the class was soon headed back inside to do their Ninjutsu assessment. As they were called into the testing room one by one, the tension in the air built. Many began to squirm nervously and some even started pacing, but Naruto sat completely still, meditating. He focused inward, on his chakra and began to move it slowly and deliberately through his body, working his chakra control before his test. He was so focused that he jumped when Sakura, headband in hand, shook him and told him it was his turn. He thanked her and hurried off towards the testing room to amaze his senseis.  
Naruto walked into the test room and stood in front of Iruka-sensei and Mizuki, who he would not call sensei.

"Iruka-sensei, would you mind if I just did all three jutsu instead of you calling them out?"

"No, I wouldn't mind, but is there a reason why?"

"You'll see." With that he made a clone, gave it a high-five, causing Iruka and Mizuki's jaws to drop, and promptly dispelled it. He then Kawarimied into the corner and a log appeared in his place. He ran through a few hand signs and sent wind blades at the log, causing it to become chopped bits before poofing out of existence. After the smoke cleared Naruto was standing in front of their desk.

"That was very impressive, but where was your Henge?"

"Allow me to explain. First, I created a shadow clone and high-fived it, which you saw, but instead of dispelling, it Henged into smoke and drifted to the corner. I then used the clone to perform a Kawarimi, ending up in the corner and the clone Hengeing into a log. I then shot my wind jutsu at the clone which dispelled. Under the cover of the smoke I performed a shun-shin and ended up here." Iruka and Mizuki's jaws reached the floor. 'Not only did he use shadow clones, a C-rank wind jutsu and the shun-shin, he developed a strategy to incorporate all of them and trick us. That's really impressive, however…' thought Iruka.

"That was very impressive Naruto, however I need you to show me regular clones as well."

"No problem! Although I can only make ten or more, I have too much chakra for less," Naruto stated, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's fine. Maybe you should do the other two again too, so I can know for sure."

"You got it," Naruto said as ten clones of his popped into existence. He attempted to high-five one but his hand just slipped through. As he was toppling over he used Kawarimi to switch with a chair and caught himself against the wall, then Henged into the chair he had switched with.

"Even the simple way, you still had to string them together," Iruka laughed, "Alright Naruto, you pass. You got an 80% on your written portion, a 78% on your weapons portion, lasted all five minutes in the Taijutsu portion and went above and beyond in the Ninjutsu portion."

"About that, can you keep it quiet? I want to surprise my teammates and my Jonin sensei."

"Sure thing, Naruto, we can do that. So, choose your headband. There's three different lengths and two standard colors."

"Alright. Thanks again, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said as he swiped a long, black headband, like the one he had worn after his training trip in the last timeline. He smiled and exited the testing room, tying his headband on his forehead as Sakura hissed at him, "What took you so long, Baka?"

"I was having a chat with Iruka-sensei," he said and smirked as she raised her eyebrow, which began twitching.

"BAKA!" she yelled as she punched him across the room. He just continued smirking. Oh, this was gonna be fun, being Team 7 again.

A week later, Naruto was smirking as he sat with the rest of his classmates waiting for their team announcements. He had debated for a while with his father to try and get his old team back together and had finally convinced him that Team 7 should consist of Sakura, Sasuke and himself with Kakashi as the sensei. He had suffered through an extra three years at the academy just to make sure that he was on this team, he wasn't gonna end up on a different one now. His mother had been the hardest to convince to let him hold back at the academy, but he'd eventually convinced both his parents.

 _The sun had set and the sky was darkening. Naruto and his parents were sitting in their living room, arguing._

 _"I won't have my son acting like a nobody in front of his peers. You should show them how smart and talented you are. And you said it yourself, you're bored in the academy." Kushina stated._

 _"Yeah, but if I graduate early they won't be my peers anymore. I'll be on a team with people two or three years older than me. Also, it's good practice deceiving people, and I can use the fact people will underestimate me to my advantage. It's better for me in every way." Naruto responded._

 _"I agree with Naruto's reasoning on this." Minato chimed in._

 _"Minato! We're the parents, aren't you supposed to side with me?"_

 _"Dad's a practical person, he sides with whoever has the best argument."_

 _"Fine, but you can't slack off on your training at home," Kushina huffed._

 _"Wouldn't dream of it. In fact, I'm gonna train even harder at home, considering how boring the academy is."_

 _"Alright! Prepare yourself, Naruto! You're gonna get some tough training, 'ttebane!"_

Naruto was startled out of his memories as Iruka-sensei entered the classroom, clip-board in hand and without his assistant. Naruto had heard from his father that Mizuki was caught trying to steal the Forbidden Scroll and had been thrown in jail. 'Good, he didn't succeed' thought Naruto. Iruka-sensei coughed to capture the class' attention, then began to read off his list.

"Team 1 will consist of…" he continued down the list and Naruto spaced out a bit until the Rookie 9 began being called, starting with his team. "Team 7 will contain Namikaze Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. Your Jonin sensei is Hatake Kakashi. Team 8, you've got Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino. Yuuhi Kurenai will be your Jonin leader. Team 9 still exists from last year, so Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Choji will be Team 10 with Sarutobi Asuma as your Jonin sensei. Your sensei's will pick you up in the classroom after a one hour lunch break." The class nodded and began filing out of the room, some grinning and others moping. Many of Sasuke's fangirls were running at Iruka screaming at him and saying it was unfair that they weren't on 'Sasuke-kun's' team. Iruka quickly shun-shinned away, leaving them to all crowd up the halls, searching for Sasuke. Sasuke had, rather smartly, slipped out the window earlier and was heading to a quiet spot to eat his lunch. At least, he had been until Naruto and Sakura caught up with him.

"Hey Sasuke, you want to sit together to eat and then do a bit of training before we go meet our sensei? I've met him before since he's a student of my dad's and he has a bad habit of always being at least an hour late, so we should have time."

"Yeah, he's right Sasuke. And since we're a team we need to get used to working together."

"Hn. I guess I will." 'At least they're both okay students and seem to take this seriously'

Unknown to them, Kakashi was actually watching and was feeling proud that they were already thinking about working together. 'These kids might just make it' was his thought as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke munched their food in companionable silence, something Sasuke was very thankful for. 'Thank goodness they know how to be quiet' he sighed as he ate his sushi. When they had all finished their lunches, they stood up and headed in the direction of the academy training grounds. Naruto told Sakura and Sasuke that they could spar first, leaving out the part about wanting to see what their skill levels were. They faced off against each other, throwing punches and kicks and staying pretty even until Sasuke upped his speed to almost twice what it was and started coming at Sakura from many sides seemingly at once to the untrained eye, leaving no time for Sakura to react. It seemed like Sasuke would win for sure until Sakura's clever use of clones, trickery, and a well placed Kawarimi gave her a slight advantage which she pushed as far as she could until Sasuke caught up again and she forfeit. Unknown to her, though, Sasuke was fairly impressed and also very relieved she wasn't just a pining fangirl. Naruto himself was also impressed, since Sakura wasn't this accomplished at this age in his original timeline. He then decided to spar with both of them to get a further sense of their abilities, while still holding back so as to surprise them.  
After all their spars and an additional half hour of training, they made their way back to the classroom, only ten minutes after they should have. Iruka would have been mad, but he knew about Kakashi's habit of being late and couldn't blame them. One by one, the teams all left with their Jonin senseis, until it was only Team 7 sitting in the classroom.

"I guess you were serious when you said our sensei was always late," stated Sakura glumly.

"I was. How about we get to know each other better while we wait. While sitting on the ceiling of course." Sasuke and Sakura just stared at him. "What, you don't know how to do this?" he said while walking up the wall and sitting cross-legged on the ceiling, "Man." They just continued gaping.

"Alright, this is something my mom and dad taught me, so I'll teach you guys. All you have to do is focus a steady amount of chakra to your feet. If it's too little, you'll slip, and if it's too much you'll make a dent in the wall. I suggest starting with a small amount and slowly trying more each time until you get the right amount so you don't damage the classroom. You also want to clear your thoughts and focus just on your chakra and the wall," Naruto told them, still hanging from the ceiling. And so they began to try climbing the walls.

When Kakashi entered the classroom, no one was there, which confused him. He was only two hours late, so his team should've still been there.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei," said a disembodied voice from above him. Kakashi looked up and saw his three students sitting upside-down on the ceiling, looking down at him. They all pushed off into a flip and landed upright.

"You're late, sensei," said the kunoichi while the others nodded.

"Not that we didn't expect it," said the first one to have spoken, his sensei's son, "which is why we decided to train while we waited."

"Yeah, Naruto taught Sasuke-kun and I how to climb walls with chakra," the kunoichi informed Kakashi. Kakashi was stunned. His students were talented and quick learners, and they were willing to share their knowledge with their team members, not to mention they were hard workers, constantly training. He was already starting to like these kids.

"Good job, you three, being productive with the time I gave you. Meet me on the roof," he said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"So," remarked Naruto slyly, "shall we go out the window and up the wall to surprise Kakashi-sensei?" He grinned when the others nodded, Sakura with a sly smile and Sasuke with a slight smirk. When his students appeared behind him instead of in the direction of the stairs, Kakashi was momentarily startled but then remembered they knew how to use chakra to walk up walls. He turned to face his team, smiling behind his mask.

"First off are the introductions."

"What do we say? We already know each other's names," asked Sakura.

"Well I don't. I would like you to state your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future."

"You first, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto.

"Me? I'm Kakashi Hatake. My likes and dislikes are none of your business, though I'll have you know that I despise people who abandon their comrades. My dreams for the future…never really thought about it. As for hobbies, I have many hobbies." All three Genin groaned. 'It was better than last time…' Naruto thought.

"You just told us your name and one other thing, sensei," Sakura stated, exasperated.

"That I did, and since you seem so annoyed, why don't you go next and do better, Pinky."

"My name is Sakura Haruno. Not Pinky," she began, hissing the second part, "I like reading, training, my friends, and gardening. I dislike bullies, perverts, and being called weak. My dreams are to be one of the strongest kunoichi of my generation and protect my family. Some of my hobbies are flower arranging, studying medicine, and reading." Kakashi smiled under his mask. 'Good, she has her own views and goals, and isn't doing everything just for a boy, In other words, she's not a fangirl. Thank goodness' Kakashi thought to himself.

"Alright, next is the blonde guy."

"I'm Namikaze Naruto! I like my friends, my family, training, Konoha, and ramen. I dislike bullies, judgmental people, war, unnecessary killing, being alone, and how long it takes ramen to cook. My hobbies include training, reading, trying new kinds of ramen, and hanging out with my awesome friends. My dream is to become the greatest Hokage in history and bring peace to the ninja world." Kakashi smiled again. 'He's so much like both his mom and dad, and he also reminds me uncannily of Obito. I can already tell that Naruto will go far' Kakashi thought proudly.

"And last but not least, the brooding one."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like training, winning, praise, and tomatoes. I dislike many things, but mainly losing, traitors, and sweet things. What I have is not a petty dream, but I do have an ambition. I will restore trust in the Uchiha clan and bring back the respect they had by becoming the strongest shinobi in history." Kakashi shuddered just a little, although it was unnoticeable. 'One track mind. Hopefully we can help with that' Kakashi thought. Unknown to him, Naruto was thinking along the same lines. 'I guess he hasn't changed that much. Hopefully I can fix that before it's too late. Again' Naruto grimaced but smiled again when he looked up at his teammates.

"So Kakashi-sensei, what now?" he asked.

"We will finish for the day. Tomorrow Team 7 will will meet at Training Ground 3 tomorrow for your final test."

"Another test?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"Yes, your other Genin test was only to weed out the hopeless. This test has a 66% fail rate, so only 9 of the 27 new Genin will pass. Meet me at the Training Ground at 7 o'clock. I wish you luck. Oh, and remember not to eat breakfast, or you might puke." With that, he disappeared in his signature puff of smoke. The Genin looked at each other and began to walk in different directions.

A/N: There you are, my longest chapter yet. Next time on Protector: The Two Bells. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it, and I hope you can find the time to review, I enjoy reading them. Til next chapter!

A/N 2: Minor edits as of 10/20/18.


	4. The Two Bells

Naruto woke up at six and gathered his supplies. He changed quickly and ran downstairs, grabbing an energy bar on the way.

"Sorry, Mom, Dad, I can't stay for breakfast today!" he called as he rushed out the door. He sped towards the training ground, wanting to be early and have time to warm up before his teammates arrived. He also wanted to think about the things he wanted to change, and how to go about it. It was a crisp morning and the air was clear. The sun was low on the horizon, casting golden light over the formerly blue-tinged landscape. The village was just awakening and lacked its usual busy feel. It was quiet, aside from the birds chirping and the wind rustling the trees which surrounded the small village. Naruto arrived at the training ground at 6:15, after ten minutes of roof-hopping, and began doing stretches and stamina-building exercises. At 6:45, he sat down and ate his energy bar, then began to meditate. Sasuke showed up at 6:55 and Sakura was right on time at 7. Kakashi, not surprisingly, was nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning," said Naruto without opening his eyes.

"What are you doing, Dobe? Shouldn't we be training?"

"I trained all yesterday afternoon and for about half an hour this morning. It's best to rest and calm your mind, which is what I'm doing. It is technically training; it's called meditation," he explained, still not opening his eyes. Sasuke merely grunted, and he and Sakura sat down. Fifteen minutes later, Naruto finally opened his eyes.

"We should come up with a plan. We are going to have to complete the Bell Test. It's a test my father gave to his team, including Kakashi, and he told me about it when he was telling me stories about his team. What we have to do is snatch the bells from Kakashi, but none of us can do it alone since he's an Elite Jonin. There are two bells, which is meant to pit us against each other, but for any of us to pass, we need to work together. The test isn't really about getting the bells, it's about working as a team. We were put on three man squads for a reason, and we need to support each other, as comrades and as friends," Naruto explained to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Wait, your Dad told you about the test? Isn't that cheating?" Sakura asked.

"No, he didn't actually tell me how the test worked. He just told me about the time his team took it, and I figured it out," Naruto responded.

"Oh," was all Sakura said.

"Anyway, I've got a basic plan, but I need to know more about your skills and styles, as well as any ideas you have," said Naruto, motioning for them to lean forward. They talked for a few minutes and then nodded.

Kakashi arrived at the training ground to find his three students resting in the shade. Their eyes snapped open and they glared at their ever-tardy sensei. The sensei in question merely shrugged and pulled out a small clock, setting it on one of the three posts in the field.

"Your task is simple. You must take these bells from me before noon. Whoever doesn't…fails!" he stated while pulling out two bells and dangling them from his hand.

"But sensei, there's only two bells."

"Very clever observation Sakura," Kakashi praised. Sakura smirked. "Yes, there are only two bells, which means one of you is bound to fail." Sakura never stopped smirking. Kakashi then pulled out a small orange book and said calmly, albeit with a slight smirk behind his mask, "Begin."  
The three Genin dispersed into the forest and hid themselves, Sakura under some bushes, Sasuke in the foliage of a tree, and Naruto behind a rock near the water. Kakashi looked around and quickly noticed all three and assessed their positions. 'Naruto has the best spot. The flow of the current and all the mud hides his scent. The sound of the water also covers any slight rustling sounds he may make and it is harder to sense chakra through rock. Sakura has the next best hiding spot; she's surrounded on three sides with a place to observe me, and she is on the ground where it is easy to move. Sasuke is in a good position to attack since he is up high, and he has leaves for cover, but it's hard to move away without making a sound and he is easy to pinpoint' Kakashi smiled and sat down with his book, waiting for them to make the first move. The three jumped forward simultaneously and began throwing kunai and shuriken from all three directions. Kakashi deflected all of the incoming projectiles, hands in a blur, but more continued to be thrown until suddenly he was buried underground with only his head sticking up and Sakura stood smirking at him. Three popping sounds and the telltale smoke told him his previous assailants were shadow clones. Before he could escape with a seal-less shunshin, he was punched in the gut, launching him upward as a black and red blur followed him. Sakura then punched him in the back sending him forward and sending a tri-pronged kunai after him. Naruto appeared next to him and kicked him in the chest, sending him towards Sasuke who swiped for the bells. Kakashi twisted at the last minute and avoided him, but it was close. He landed and jumped back, forming hand seals for a C-rank Suiton jutsu. Before it reached the Genin, Sakura punched the ground forming a wall. Sakura and Naruto then began to attack him again, Sakura first and then almost immediately after Naruto, coming from the direction in which Sakura had punched him. When there was an opening Sasuke would make a grab at the bells before switching roles with Naruto. This continued for couple minutes before they began to attack him from three different directions. As they surrounded him and began to attack with a combination of Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, he jumped upwards. He could've taken them all out, but he was worried about hurting them too much as they were only Genin. Jumping up was the next best option and would buy him time to form hand seals. What Kakashi didn't plan for was the shadow clone that ambushed him from above. He dodged the kick it sent but was unable to stop it from swiping the bells off him while he was distracted. The clone tossed the bells to Sasuke and Sakura before it dispelled itself and the three Genin grinned at him as he landed five feet away from him. He smiled to himself as he looked at the three Genin covered in dirt and panting, but nonetheless glowing with happiness, even Naruto who didn't have a bell. They high-fived and made their way toward him. What happened next surprised him more than anything else, even after all the surprising events of the day.

"Sensei, can you please make an exception and pass Naruto, too? He came up with the plan and helped us so much and he was also the one to grab the bells. And after all that he still gave us both the bells and resigned himself to failing. Please, sensei? We need him on our team! He's our friend and our teammate, and we don't want to leave him behind," Sakura begged him.  
'They not only worked together to get the bells, but they also are defending each other? And Naruto came up with the plan and got them all to work together?' Kakashi thought, utterly bewildered. And his bewilderment would only increase.

"I agree with Sakura, Kakashi-sensei. We need all three of us to be at full power. We need our full three-man team," Sasuke stated, much more calmly then Sakura had, but nonetheless defending Naruto. Kakashi smiled underneath his mask but got into his strict Jonin persona.

"I have already decided. You…pass. All three of you," Kakashi stated cheerfully. He had already taken a liking to these three.  
Upon hearing the news, Sasuke gave a small smirk, Naruto grinned and pumped his fist in the air, and Sakura pulled both her celebrating teammates into a bone-crushing hug. Finding it necessary to intervene before his male students suffocated, Kakashi cleared his throat.

"How about a celebratory lunch at the restaurant of your choice? We can get to know each other better, and you can explain to me how you did that," Kakashi asked, partly to save Naruto and Sasuke from Sakura and partly because he was actually curious. He thought he had seen Naruto using a jutsu revered and feared through all the Elemental Nations, but he couldn't be sure. All three Genin looked up and nodded vigorously.

"Ichiraku's, right?" Naruto asked happily. Everyone nodded resignedly, vowing to convince him to go to a different place to eat the next time. It was a losing battle to argue with him after his mind was made up.

The newly-formed Team 7 chatted happily as they finished their various amounts of ramen. Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi were having a discussion about literature while Sasuke listened, only semi-curious. After Naruto had finished his twelfth and final bowl, the foursome made their way back to Training Ground 3 to discuss their individual skills and what jutsu they had used in the test. Kakashi had decided to let them assess their own skills and assess them himself tomorrow. He had a feeling all three of them still had more up their sleeves. At the training grounds, Team 7 seated themselves in the shade.

"Alright my little Genin! I would like you to give me your own assessment of your skill levels, and I would like you to be truthful. I want to know this so I know what to work on with you and what you will bring to the team. You will give me a rank and an explanation. Sasuke, you're first," Kakashi stated, looking pointedly at Naruto when he said the bit about being truthful. Naruto gulped and nodded, Sakura started fidgeting and looked a little nervous about what her teammates would think of her, and Sasuke smirked.

"I'm low Chuunin level in Ninjutsu. I know the academy basics as well as seven D and C-rank Katon jutsu and three D and C-rank Raiton jutsu. I am currently learning my first B-rank Katon jutsu. I know how to walk vertically with chakra and last night I began learning water-walking. I'm high Genin with Taijutsu. I know the academy style as well as the basics of the Uchiha style. I am learning the intermediate level Uchiha Taijutsu. I am also high Genin level in Genjutsu. I know how to detect and dispel them up to A-rank and can cast a variety of D and C-rank Genjutsu, as well as two B-rank. I awakened my sharingan when I was seven, and have trained with it to the point where I am able to easily use it in battle. I have also learned the basics of Kenjutsu. My accuracy with weapons is 100%. My strength is high Genin, my speed is low Chuunin, and my tactical skills are high Genin," Sasuke explained proudly. Kakashi nodded as he told Sakura to go next.

"I think I'd rank mid-Genin with Ninjutsu. I know three D-rank and two C-rank Doton jutsu and the academy basics. I also started learning the basics of medical Ninjutsu a year ago and can heal most cuts and bone fractures. My Taijutsu is possibly low Chuunin. I studied some books in the library and figured that I could enhance my strength with chakra like Tsunade-sama, since I have good chakra control. The wall of earth I made was not Ninjutsu, it was pure strength. I rank high Genin in Genjutsu, since I haven't had much practice. I can detect and dispel them up to A-rank and cast many D and C-ranks. My weapons accuracy is 98% with kunai, 95% with shuriken, and 96% with senbon. My strength is mid-Chuunin, my speed is mid-Genin, and my tactical skills are also mid-Genin," said Sakura, shifting back and forth nervously after telling her team her skills. Kakashi smiled at her reassuringly, and she calmed down a bit while Naruto reluctantly started to state his skill levels.

"My Ninjutsu is low Chuunin level. I know the academy basics, shadow clones, shun-shin, tree walking and water-walking. As for Elemental Manipulation, I know five D-rank Fuuton, four C-rank Fuuton, and one B-rank Fuuton, as well as four D-rank Suiton and three C-rank Suiton. My Taijutsu is low Chuunin, since I know the academy style and both my parents' styles. However, I mainly rely on my speed, which I have been training since I was four, and my unpredictability. My Genjutsu is low Genin. I can detect and dispel them up to B-rank, but I can't cast a single one. I'm also a 5th rank seal-user, out of the eleven sealer's ranks in Uzushiogakure. I've got 100% accuracy with kunai, 100% accuracy with shuriken, and 99% accuracy with senbon. My strength is high Genin level, my speed mid-Chuunin, and my tactics high Genin," Naruto stated while Sakura and Sasuke's jaws were steadily dropping lower. Kakashi maintained his composure, but inside he was also greatly confused. 'I read through the academy reports and they pinned him as average, but that's definitely much higher. , and I have a feeling he's still hiding something' Kakashi thought to himself while outwardly he remained stoic.

"Well, it seems you three are all quite accomplished and also quite complimentary to each other. Sakura knows medical Ninjutsu and shines in Taijutsu while Sasuke takes Genjutsu and Kenjutsu and Naruto takes Fuinjutsu and Ninjutsu. Sakura takes strength, Naruto takes speed, and Sasuke takes tactics. You all have high level skills, cover each others weaknesses, and also seem to have good teamwork. If you keep training, you could end up as legendary as the Sannin." Kakashi's students gave him incredulous looks, but he simply gave them an eye-smile and continued, "I have one question, though. Naruto, do you know Hiraishin?" Sakura and Sasuke's jaws dropped when they realized what their sensei was implying. That jutsu was what earned the Yondaime his title as the Yellow Flash, and come to think of it, that tri-pronged kunai did look familiar. Naruto sighed.

"Alright sensei, you got me. Yeah, my dad started teaching it to me a month ago when he figured I was good enough with sealing, and I just got the hang of it yesterday. I wanted to surprise you all as well as test it out, so I used it in the test. I haven't mastered it, however, which is why I didn't tell you about it in my list of skills. I can only move less than 50 feet and it takes just a little longer than my dad's. So yeah," Naruto finished, sighing again. It had really been bugging him that he was still so slow with it. Kakashi, however, was impressed, and figured he should inform Naruto of this.

"That's very impressive Naruto. I can't believe you can do Hiraishin at all after only a month. We'll have to incorporate practice with the Hiraishin into your training," Kakashi said enthusiastically. Naruto nodded and smiled a little, glad that his sensei wasn't disappointed.

"Okay, meet at this training ground tomorrow at 8 o'clock. By tomorrow I will have assessed what I will be training you in and I will give you your routines and your individual training schedules. We will start the morning with exercise, then improve teamwork, and then we will split into groups to strengthen your individual skills. Just remember one thing. No matter how strong you become, stick with your teammates and let them have your back. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, but those who would abandon their comrades are worse then scum. Always remember to use your strength to protect, not destroy." Kakashi concluded, before disappearing in a shun-shin. The Genin nodded solemnly. They then turned and made their way home.

As Sasuke and Naruto made their way towards the clan districts, an uncomfortable silence settled on them.  
'Was Naruto holding back that much? thought Sasuke. 'Sakura was ranked second, so I figured she would be pretty good, but Naruto? He was ranked sixth, after me, Sakura, Shino, Ino, and Kiba. In reality, he's equal to me in everything but Genjutsu, and even in that he could dispel any I place on him since I can't cast A-ranks. I might get an edge over him with my Sharingan, but he has Fuinjutsu, which is a widely feared art when mastered. I can't let someone like him surpass me. I will prove to my clan that I, too, am a genius. I will be the most powerful shinobi in history.' His thoughts were disturbed abruptly when he crashed into something and both he and the other something fell over. He opened his eyes to see that he had bumped into Naruto.

"Watch where you're going, dobe!" Sasuke shouted.

"I could say the same to you, teme. I was just turning to say goodbye before heading to my house. Now, if you would please get off me," Naruto replied, irritated. When Sasuke acted this way it brought back memories of the cold and psychotic Sasuke of his old world.

 _"Stay out of my way, Dobe. I'm not going to wait for you."_

 _"You were like my brother. That is why you must die. I will sever my bonds and become stronger."_

 _"This world has no need for you, Naruto. Your precious friends and comrades have fallen. It's time for you to depart."_

Naruto grimaced, staring at Sasuke's angry gaze. It was the same one his old life's Sasuke had given him so many times. Exactly the same. Same. Same. No! They weren't the same. This world's Sasuke was an innocent Genin. Naruto scowled. This world's Sasuke scowled as well, but complied, before huffing and stalking off towards his clan compound. Naruto got up and dusted himself off before he, too, continued on his way.

A/N: Mwahahaha! I hope I made the ending ominous enough. As for the length of time, all I can say is sorry. Unfortunately I had some writer's block in the middle of this chapter, but I think it turned out okay. Tell me what you think in the reviews! :P

A/N 2: Updated 10/20/18. Minor edits and a different ending.


	5. Nami no Kuni

Naruto was officially bored out of his mind. D-ranks were bad the first time around. They were worse the second. Being a fully accomplished shinobi who had been on S-rank missions and fought in a war, gardening and picking up trash most certainly. Was. Not. Stimulating. And chasing down demonic cats was even worse. However, he knew how important D-ranks were to the welfare of the village and it's inhabitants, so he suffered through them. But that did not mean he enjoyed them. In fact, he was reaching his limit. This same stupid cat had run away eleven times in two weeks, and they had had to retrieve it every time. At least this time around Kakashi-sensei had spent more time on their training and he had learned a lot. Kakashi-sensei had been improving his speed and accuracy with Hiraishin, as well as his range. He had also helped him with physical conditioning and dropping the number of hand-seals needed on the jutsu he used. Since Kakashi-sensei didn't have any Fuuton jutsu in his arsenal and only minimal knowledge of Suiton jutsu, he had helped Naruto perfect his basics even further and also helped him improve his practical use of everything he knew in battle. Other then training, however, his life on Team 7 was pretty boring. He and Sasuke had an occasional scuffle or argument, but otherwise, it was just simple D-ranks. 'Wait a minute! When did we go to Nami again? It was a day after a mission to retrieve that demon cat, Tora, but that could really be any day. Oh shit' Naruto swore at himself before he focused on the cat. The sooner he got this over with the sooner he could check the missions desk.

* * *

Minato Namikaze, Hokage of 14 years, was having a very normal day. He had sat in his office leafing through mounds of paperwork since 8 o'clock in the morning. He'd had instant ramen for lunch at 12:30, and had gone back to the paperwork afterwards, which he was still working on now. The only slightly abnormal occurrence was his son bursting through his door, dragging his team behind him, and demanding a C-rank mission. Okay, very abnormal. For one, his son always used shun-shin or the window, never the door. And second, his son trusted his judgment and rarely demanded anything, besides ramen.

"Calm down, Naruto," Minato admonished his son. Naruto nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay, slowly tell me what you need and why."

"I need to go on a C-rank mission. I'm really bored. We've all been training a lot and we're all too skilled for D-ranks. Besides, it might help our teamwork to be on a real mission," Naruto stated calmly.

"Okay, I see your point. You are all quite talented, and you have done more than two weeks worth of D-ranks. What do you think, Kashi?"

"Minato-sensei, please don't call me that," Kakashi said in an almost-whiny voice.

"But it's so fun to tease you, Kashi-kun. But that's beside the point. Is your team ready?"

"Yes. They're ready."

"Alright Naruto, why don't you take a look at this list and choose a mission, since you suggested this?"

"Sure thing!" Naruto exclaimed before turning his attention to the list. He scanned the paper for about a minute before pointing to one near the bottom. "That's it!" Minato leaned closer to see what Naruto had chosen. It was an escort mission to Nami no Kuni, no one special, simply a bridge builder wanting protection from bandits. It was, however, a good pick for a first C-rank as in would probably be fairly simple.

"So Naruto, what draws you to this mission?" Minato asked, curious what his son's reasoning was.

"Well, I was reading it and it occurred to me: why would a bridge builder from Nami no Kuni need protection? The people of Nami in general aren't rich, and a bridge builder would not be one of the few who are. So why would bandits attack him? I have a feeling that the client for this mission is hiding something and I think any other Genin team would fail. I've heard that Nami no Kuni is in a bad condition, and the bridge builder may be an advocate of some sort, which would mean he would be attacked by mercenaries, not bandits. I know normally you would send Chuunin for this mission, but please send me and my team," Naruto finished in a pleading tone. Well, that wasn't what he had expected.

"I don't know, Naruto. It sounds too dangerous."

"Dad! Sasuke, Sakura and I can handle ourselves, and if things get really bad we've always got Kakashi-sensei!"

"Alright Naruto. Just like with your mother, I never can seem to win our arguments. You and your team can take the escort mission to Nami no Kuni." Naruto ran forward and hugged his dad.

"Thanks Dad."

"You're welcome. Just promise you'll be careful."

"I promise. I won't let anyone on my team get hurt."

"That's my little Naruto," Minato said, ruffling Naruto's hair.

"Oi! Dad! That's embarrassing," Naruto grumbled.

"I still do it to Kashi, I can do it to you, too. Alright, you can go home and rest. Be here at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning."

"Will do! See ya later, Dad. Kakashi-sensei, why don't we do tomorrow's training tonight?"

"Sure Naruto," Kakashi replied, leading two of his team members out the door, while Naruto took the window.

* * *

It was a pleasantly warm, extremely normal day. Small clouds dotted the azure sky and tree after tree lined the wide dirt road. Team 7 and their client, Tazuna, had set out at 9:30, after their meeting with the Hokage. There introduction had been mostly uneventful, aside from surprising each other with new outfits and their client calling them 'snot-nosed brats'. They had made good progress despite their banter, and were nearing the border of Hi no Kuni. Hi no Kuni was a thickly forested country with mild winters and fairly hot summers. In the month of June, as it currently was, it never rained. In fact, it hadn't rained since April. Now, if you were a perceptive person, you would realize that large puddles did not belong where it hadn't rained for two months. Possibly in Mizu no Kuni, where it rained quite often, one would find puddles such as these, but not in Hi no Kuni. Which led two such perceptive people to wonder what the heck a puddle was doing there, right in the middle of the path. Or more accurately, who had been stupid enough to put it there. Both, of course, knew what the stray puddle was, being the experienced ninja they were. Their traveling partners were not so lucky. So when a long and razor-sharp chain flew out of no-where, chopping their silver-haired instructor to bits, they were surprised. They quickly recovered, however, and jumped to protect their charge. The other ninja to have noticed their enemy's presence immediately jumped into action. Channelling Fuuton chakra through a kunai he cut through the chain flying towards him, separating the enemies. He veered towards the one on the right, motioning for his teammates to take the one on the left. Weaving through strikes from the enemy's claws, and using his kunai to block tho ones he couldn't, he advanced. When in his enemy's guard, he sent an elbow towards the man's chest, but got a claw in the hand in return. 'Not again!' Speeding up, Naruto seemed to blur, and before the missing-nin knew what happened he had been hit on the back of the neck and was out cold. Sasuke and Sakura dragged their unconscious missing-nin to a tree where Naruto had dragged his. Naruto proceeded to tie them to the tree with ninja wire while calling, "You can come out now, sensei. You got your information." A silver-headed man jumped from the bushes and nodded to his blonde teammate before addressing the group.

"Good job, Naruto. You too, Sasuke, Sakura. Sorry about playing that little trick there, but I wanted to test your reactions, as well as who their target was. Looks like Naruto was right about this mission. We discussed the possibility of enemy ninja with you and you all stuck with your roles, even after I pretended to get caught in the chains. Sorry if I scared you," Kakashi said with his typical eye-smile. The Genin glared at him. It was then that Kakashi noticed Naruto's bleeding hand.

"Naruto, are you alright? Those weapons were poisoned."

"I'll be fine, Kakashi-sensei," he said calmly. He then took out a kunai from his pouch and stabbed it into his wound. There was a collective gasp from the group as they watched Naruto.

"I'm not one to run away from a fight, or from pain. I'm going to protect everyone I care about even if it costs me my life. I'm going to become a great ninja and an even greater Hokage than my dad. But most importantly, I'm going to be a great teammate and friend, and always be there for you all. I promise on the wound on this left hand," Naruto said, voice overflowing with determination. Everyone continued to stare at Naruto as he gave his speech. They were all too shocked to speak, but for different reasons.  
'He sounds like me. Like he's lost people before. The conviction in his voice is that of someone who's seen tragedy well beyond his young years. Naruto…is incredible. The love he feels for all of us…He's always had a big heart, but this is deeper than that. He truly understands how important friends and comrades are. When he talks like that, I start to believe in him. I start to want to follow him. Is this his power?' Kakashi thought, utterly astounded.  
'Naruto…you've always tried to be kind to everyone…do you really feel this strongly? Would you really give your life…for us? You've always had this strange ability to bring people together, like during our test. Maybe you will become Hokage one day. And when that day comes, I'll be cheering you on, and I'll be proud to claim that I was your teammate, and your friend.' Sakura thought, feeling more sure of it the longer the thought sat in her head.  
'Is this the real Naruto? He sounds so different. And would he really give his life for us? What about his own goals? Namikaze Naruto, huh…' Sasuke thought.  
'This kid…' was all Tazuna could think. They were all abruptly brought back to reality when Kakashi said, "Naruto, if you don't stop the blood flow you'll bleed out." Naruto nodded and reached for his pouch to draw out a roll of bandages.

"Let me help!" Sakura cut in, "I know some Medical Ninjutsu."

"Thanks Sakura-chan, I appreciate it, but I want it to heal naturally. I want the scar to remind me of my promise…"

"Naruto…you idiot! I can't have you dying, can I! You need to live. You need to fulfill your dreams. You can't just die on me after you say something like that. Now, give me your hand," she said, snatching his hand from him. She looked at him with a stern gaze, but her eyes immediately softened when she saw the look in his. His eyes were filled with sadness, determination, and…love? Wait, that couldn't be right, she thought. "Naruto…" she said again.

"It's alright, Sakura-chan," he reassured her, placing his uninjured hand on her shoulder, "I'm not going to die. Not here at least. I promise."

"That's not very reassuring, idiot," she chided, "if you're trying to make me feel better, you could leave off the 'not here at least' part." Naruto chuckled softly, a small smile on his face.

"I wish I could Sakura-chan. I wish I could promise you that. But that might not be a promise I can keep, and I don't want to lie to you," Naruto said, "but don't worry. You won't be getting rid of me so soon." Naruto responded, with a small smile at the end. Sakura tried to laugh, but it came out more of a strangled half-sob. Instead she responded,

"I would hope not. Now let me heal your hand." Naruto shook his head once again.

"It's a reminder of my promise." She simply nodded, knowing there was no winning this argument. She was still surprised after his proclamation, and trying to figure out why he would go so far for them. A tap on her shoulder brought her attention back to the real world and her eyes opened to Naruto handing her the roll of bandages. She nodded, understanding what he was asking, and proceeded to wind the bandages around his injured hand.  
While Sakura dressed his hand, Naruto internally promised himself, 'You won't die again, Sakura-chan. This time I WILL protect you, all of you. All the people I love…It hurts enough to see you all here, alive, when I watched you all die, when I wasn't strong enough to protect you all…I can't watch you die again…Sakura-chan, Dad, Mom, Jiji, Ero-sennin, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei…Everyone! I will bring peace to this world so no one else will have to be sacrificed for petty wars…and I won't make the same mistakes again. I won't try to do everything alone again. I will stand beside you all, and we will protect our world. I… no we! We won't fail!' He looked up at Sakura, a determined glint in his cerulean eyes. It was then that he noticed a small wound on Sakura's arm. Worry immediately dulled the shine in his eyes.

"Sakura-chan, you're bleeding." He remarked, running his fingers over the cut. She looked surprised, whether at his statement or his touch he didn't know.

"What?" she asked. She hadn't even noticed the small scratch on her arm until Naruto pointed it out. She finished the wrapping on his hand before she looked at minuscule wound which Naruto was trailing his fingers over. A slight blush rose in her cheeks, but she ignored it in favor of healing her wound. Naruto's hand retreated when her own chakra-coated hand descended to her arm.

"Is Sasuke okay?" he asked her once the cut was gone. She just nodded. He turned back to Tazuna, remembering the mission.

"Tazuna-san, we will continue to guard you because we have come this far and because I want to help your country, however next time I suggest you be truthful. I know you must have a reason, but if we had been ill-prepared this could have cost my teammates and I our lives. Luckily I realized that a simple and somewhat poor bridge builder would not be likely to be robbed and that there was likely more to it, especially considering the state of your country. However, would you please tell us the details?" Naruto asked. Tazuna sighed but told them the story of his country and it's plight, as well as how his bridge would help. Naruto nodded grimly as did his teammates and the small, somber group continued onward.

* * *

The group of travelers had camped and traveled for most of the second day undisturbed. They had now reached the small strait between Nami no Kuni and Hi no Kuni and had decided to walk across it instead of hiring a boat, so as to avoid suspicion. Kakashi carried the bridge builder on his back as they quietly made their way across the water. Tazuna had protested at first, but had quickly given in. Shortly after they set foot in Nami no Kuni, their streak of luck ran out.

"Duck!" Kakashi yelled as he pulled Tazuna down. All three Genin ducked as a very large sword swung over their heads. A tall figure with a slashed Kiri hitai-ate worn side-ways on his head landed on the handle of the sword, back turned to them. Recognition flashed in Kakashi's eyes and he ordered his team to get in formation.

"What have we here? Sharingan no Kakashi, Copier of a Thousand Jutsu, and a bunch of brats playing ninja. Unfortunately for you, I have a mission to accomplish," with his speech finished, Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist, disappeared as both mist and Killing Intent began to flood the area. Sakura and Sasuke froze in fear of the intense KI but Naruto remained alert. Kurama had worse KI; it was strong even for a Bijuu's. Kakashi turned to look at his trembling students and gave them his signature eye-smile.

"Don't worry. I'll protect my comrades no matter what. Now calm down and focus." Sasuke and Sakura visibly relaxed, and Naruto sighed in relief. Just then, Zabuza appeared between them and Tazuna.

"Are you sure?" he asked as he readied his legendary sword, Kubikiribocho. Kakashi's eye widened, but before he could move the sword began to swing. Before it could reach them, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto blocked it, Sasuke with his Chokuto and the other two with kunai. Zabuza's eyes widened as three kids held his sword at bay. Before he could overcome his surprise, he felt a fist in his gut courtesy of the pink-haired Kunoichi, closely followed by a combined Fuuton and Katon attack from the male team members. The Genin jumped out of the way as the inferno exploded and got back in formation around Tazuna, who had run as soon as Zabuza got near him. The members of Team 7 kept their senses alert as they waited for Zabuza to make a move, knowing full well he wouldn't be finished that easily. Kakashi, while still alert, was wondering at the reflexes and strength of his team after only two weeks of training. Zabuza, in his hiding place, was also wondering how those brats had reacted so fast. A normal Genin would have either not noticed in time or frozen in fear. And even if they noticed and moved, a normal Genin would not have moved fast enough. All those normal scenarios ended with the Genin cleaved in half. Therefore these were not normal Genin. 'I guess they aren't an easier target that I can use to lower Kakashi's morale. I can't waste more time with them. I guess It's back to Kakashi, since he's still the biggest threat.' he thought and went after the Jonin in the group. His sword was once again stopped, this time by a single kunai. His opponent glared at him, obviously unhappy he had attacked his students, his uncovered left eye a deep scarlet. Trapped in a stalemate, Zabuza decided he should intimidate his adversary a bit. He doubted it would work, but it was always worth a try.

"Ah, the Sharingan. A famed eye, but relying on a gift will not help you. A coward who leans on the crutch of someone else's bloodline could never win against a true ninja," Zabuza taunted.

"Oh, says the man pushed back by rookie Genin. In fact, Genin promoted two weeks ago. You have nothing on me," Kakashi shot back, catching on to the game Zabuza was playing. Zabuza's eyes widened fractionally at that. How could fresh-from-the-academy Genin be so strong? He quickly dismissed the thought and refocused on the fight, slowly but surely pivoting Kakashi towards the water with powerful and numerous swings of his sword. The minute Kakashi stepped onto the water, Zabuza ran through a few hand seals and Kakashi was trapped in a water prison. Kakashi swore for his stupidity before telling his Genin to run. None of them even flinched.

"No way, Kakashi-sensei. You told us yourself when we met as a team the day after we passed: those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse them scum. We aren't going to leave you behind, Kakashi-sensei, no matter what. I promised I'd protect you all just yesterday. I promised I wouldn't run away from fights or from pain. I'm not going back on that now. Together, we may be able to do what you couldn't alone. Together, we can defeat Zabuza. So don't tell us to run away, because it won't happen. We're Team 7, and we're not going back to Konoha without you. Dattebayo!" Naruto stated, looking Kakashi straight in the eyes. Sakura and Sasuke nodded their approval of the statement and formed an offensive formation. Naruto created two shadow clones which hopped off to defend Tazuna while the three Genin of Team 7 and Zabuza's water clone sized each other up. Naruto made a gesture to the team, and the three scattered.  
Kakashi was waging an internal battle while he watched his Genin fight. On one hand, he was proud of the skill, tactics, determination, and dedication his team displayed. And on the other he was angry they had disobeyed him and worried for their safety. The pride came out victorious as he watched them demolish the water clone and then grab on to Zabuza's feet from beneath the ground. He immediately realized what they had done. 'Crafty as ever. Naruto's shadow clone henged as Sakura while she was under ground. They then caused a distraction by fighting and over-powering the water clone, allowing Sakura to immobilize the real one. And they got rid of the water clone at the same time. It's a simple tactic, but obviously effective' His smile grew as he watched the raging inferno that was Naruto and Sasuke's combination attack advance towards Zabuza, who was still pinned in place. Sakura let go and retreated right before it hit and Zabuza was forced to shun-shin away at the last minute. When he reappeared, he was obviously singed, and the water prison was dropped. Kakashi beamed at his Genin before once again turning serious. He looked at Zabuza with renewed fury as the latter began to stand. Zabuza growled at the Genin before sending a rapidly formed water bullet in their direction. It was met by another water bullet, sent by Naruto. 'It's impressive for Genin to know one element, let alone two. And this kid does. It's not easy to impress me, but this definitely does' Zabuza smiled. This was turning out more interesting then he'd anticipated. The Genin landed on the water next to Kakashi, readying themselves for the upcoming battle.

"Alright brats, you've got me curious. What are your names?" Zabuza asked, smirking at the confused expressions on their faces. Then they began smirking too.

"Naruto Namikaze."

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"Sakura Haruno."

Zabuza nodded before he charged.

* * *

Team 7 was recuperating at Tazuna's house. They had technically won the battle with Zabuza, but it really didn't feel like it. All the members, minus Naruto with his monstrous chakra reserves, had varying levels of Chakra Exhaustion and in the end Zabuza had gotten away. The mood in the house was somber, and the ninja were feeling very depressed. That dinner was a quiet affair, the sound of chopsticks on plates the only thing breaking the dead silence. The people sitting around the table were all deep in thought.  
'With me out of commission for the next week and Sasuke and Sakura for at least another day, there's a chance we may not be ready for Zabuza when he comes. We will all have to train especially hard' thought Kakashi worriedly.  
'I have to get stronger so I don't look like an idiot. I am an Uchiha, after all' were the thoughts of one Sasuke Uchiha as he glared at Naruto.  
'These people all feel so sad. What happened here to drain all the hope from these people?' Sakura wondered, gazing sadly at Tazuna and his family. 'I want to help them. But first I need to become stronger'  
'I hope these kids will be okay. Making people this young into ninja, how is that legal?' Tsunami thought angrily.  
'I sure hope these brats are good enough to stand up to Zabuza a second time' Tazuna thought, nervously glancing at the Genin members of Team 7.  
'Why don't they just mind their own business? It's not like they can do anything anyway' Inari thought despondently, before deciding to voice his opinion. His voice sliced through the silence, sharp and cold.

"You guys are stupid. Why do you waste your time trying to do something? You're just going to die! You should just go home and mind your own business!" Inari then turned and ran towards the stairs, only to be caught by the back of his shirt and picked up.

"Look here. I know something bad must've happened to make you think like that, but you're the one who's stupid. If you give up and don't do anything, then of course nothing will change. I walked through your village earlier and there were people all over the streets, adults and children alike, and they were starving, wearing only rags, but the worst thing wasn't their predicament. It was their eyes. Their eyes were filled with despair. There wasn't a single drop of hope in the entire village. Your grandfather is risking his life to build this bridge to help Nami no Kuni. His bridge is the glimmer of hope for this land, and if we give up now, that bridge will never be complete. This land will lose its last thread of hope. If that bridge is completed, this land will be saved. It may not be instant, there may be bumps in the road, twists and turns no one expected, but it's still a road in the right direction. Life isn't always perfect, that's a fact. But it's only as good as you make it, remember that. Never give up on your hope. The moment you stop hoping they've won. Your hope and your will is what paves that road. Don't give up just because it gets hard, that's a cowards way out," Naruto declared, before dropping Inari back on the ground and walking out the door. Inari ran to his room, tears streaking down his face.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set, leaving a soft golden glow on the tree-tops. It had been an hour since Naruto left Tazuna's house, and he was seated in a clearing, thinking. Thinking was not his strong point, and every time he came close to a solution, another problem came up. He was beginning to doubt he would ever come up with a feasible plan, and decided he should do some training. Creating fifty shadow clones to work on his hand seals and Fuinjutsu, he began setting up an obstacle course. The course would train him physically and increase his speed and accuracy with Hiraishin.

Just as he'd finished with the obstacle course, Kakashi entered the clearing. Naruto landed next to him, smiling.

"What's up, Kashi-sensei?" Naruto asked cheerfully. Kakashi groaned.

"Not you, too! Why must everyone call me Kashi?" he moaned, staring dramatically up at the sky.

"Don't take it too hard, Kashi-sensei. We mean you no harm."

"I swear you all do this on purpose. Damn you, Minato-sensei, telling everyone to use my nickname!"

"Did you want to talk about something?" Naruto prodded.

"Right, sorry Naru-kun." Naruto rolled his eyes, inwardly cursing his mother's childish nickname for him and swearing pranking vengeance when he returned. "I was wondering if you wanted to spar?" Kakashi continued.

"Sure thing. And then I have a few things to run by you." Kakashi nodded to Naruto and they took up fighting stances.

Naruto and Kakashi returned to the house that evening wearing identical smirks.

A/N: So sorry for the long wait. I started high school, and all the work swamped me. Here's Part I of the wave arc. I'm hoping to get it done as quickly as I can, so probably only one more chapter. After that, the story will finally diverge from canon a great deal. ;P


	6. Chuunin Exams (Or Not)

"You WHAT?!" was the scream heard throughout Konoha that Thursday morning. It was the scream of one very upset blond Hokage yelling at his student. Minato Namikaze was furious. How could Kakashi put his son in danger like that? He had trusted him to protect his team on this dangerous mission, and now this? It took Naruto stepping in to calm him down.

"Dad! It's my fault!"

"How is that, Naruto?" Minato asked tiredly.

"I was the one who requested the mission. I was also the one who came up with the idea to try and get Zabuza and Haku on our side, which is what got us in trouble. It's my fault."

"I see how you might think that, Naruto, but it's Kashi's responsibility to protect the Genin on his team."

"I know that, Dad, but you have no reason to beat him up about an accident. None of us knew our first C-rank would end up as an A-rank. Ninja face danger every mission-it's a part of our life. You should know that, you fought in a war. Sakura, Sasuke and I handled ourselves fine and only came out with minor injuries. You don't need to wake half of Konoha yelling about it just because I'm your son."

"You're right. I'm sorry, Kashi-kun, I was out of line. I just went into overprotective father mode. At least I have my incredible son to tell me off." The room chuckled at the last sentence, and just like that the heavy atmosphere was gone.

"So you forgive me, Minato-sensei?" Kakashi asked tentatively.

"Of course I do, Kashi-kun. However," he said, returning to his role of Hokage, "I still need your full mission report. On time, please, Kashi-kun."

"Hai, sensei!" And so Team 7 departed and returned to their training.

* * *

After Team 7's training session, Naruto sat in his room and ignored the world. He ignored his mother when she came to get him for dinner. He ignored his father when he said he wanted to talk. He ignored both his mother and father coming to tell him to get some sleep. It was well past midnight, but he ignored the clock. And as the shadows crept back with the dawn, Naruto ignored them as well. All Naruto could see was Haku and Zabuza's empty, staring eyes, and his Fuuton-covered kunai in Haku's chest. It wasn't something he was proud of. It wasn't even something he was happy about. He had come back here to save people, dammit, not hurt them. Haku was someone who'd understood him, and someone who could've been a friend. Haku was one of the ones he'd planned to save this time around, one of the ones he'd planned to give another chance in life. Now he was just another one of the innumerable people whose blood was on Naruto's hands. Just like everyone else he held precious. He couldn't save any of them. They all saved him. He couldn't save them. He wasn't strong enough. He'd never been strong enough. Now he was stronger. So much stronger. He knew what could happen in advance. He still couldn't save them. How could he judge Sasuke when he'd failed them all, too? How could he trust himself to protect them, when he'd already lost them all once, and set himself up for failure once again. It was all pointless, all the training was pointless if it didn't make a difference. No! He needed to snap out of it. Giving up wasn't going to help him protect them all. Failure or not, he had a mission and he couldn't afford to fail again. He was Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, dammit, and he didn't give up, no matter what. He just needed a better plan. And he needed to avoid the Chuunin Exams and Orochi-teme. Oh! Chuunin Exams! Naruto immediately began to panic. The Chuunin Exams were in a month at most! He needed more time to plan. And that was when he realized that he'd had 12 years to plan it all and had gotten so caught up in his happy childhood that he'd forgotten his mission. Now, it was in the immediate future and he was not prepared at all.

"Ahhhh!" Naruto's scream echoed through the house. He didn't have time to wallow in guilt and beat himself up anymore. He needed a plan, and fast. The rest of his morning was spent frantically looking for a solution to the disaster that was his first Chuunin Exam.

* * *

The solution presented itself to him the next morning when he went downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun!" Kushina greeted cheerfully. Naruto smiled back at her, forcing his worries to the back of his head.

"Morning, Mom!"

"Honey, we need to have a talk," she stated solemnly. Naruto shivered, but took a seat at the table all the same. His father's face appeared over the newspaper when the breakfast was placed before them.

"Naruto," Minato started, "I know you may not like this, but it isn't negotiable. We can't let you or your team participate in the Chuunin Exams."

"We're really sorry, Naruto-kun. I know you and your team are strong, but we haven't been allowing Rookies into the Exams since your father became Hokage. Besides, as your mother, it's my job to worry about you, and those Exams are dangerous, 'ttebane!" Kushina said, looking at her son sadly. She didn't expect Naruto to start grinning and launch himself at her in a tackle-hug.

"Thanks, Mom!"

"Naruto-kun? Aren't you upset?"

"Nope! I want to get promoted in my first exam, so waiting another six months and being so strong I know my team will win isn't a bad thing. You will let us compete in six months, right?"

"Yeah, we'll let you, Naruto," Minato stated cheerfully. He was very glad Naruto was taking it so well.

"Cool! No problem, then. Geez, is that all you wanted to talk about? I was getting worried it was something bad!"

"We thought you would see this as a bad thing," Minato deadpanned.

"Nope!"

"That's great and all," Kushina cut in, "but your food is getting cold." Minato and Naruto were immediately downing their food in large gulps while Kushina dissolved into a fit of laughter. 'Works every time,' she thought happily.

* * *

Feeling much lighter after a solution had presented itself to him, Naruto walked bouncily toward Training Ground 7 for his team's meeting. He knew Kashi-sensei would probably break the news about the Chuunin Exam and that Sasuke would probably not be happy, but he couldn't care less. He didn't have to fear for his friends' lives just yet, and for that he was thankful.

When he arrived at the bridge where his team always met, only Sakura and Sasuke were there, unsurprisingly. He smiled brightly and lazily raised a hand, continuing forward at a slow pace.

"Naruto! Why are you walking so slowly?"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, I'm used to not being in a hurry, since Kashi-sensei's always late. Why the rush, though?" Naruto asked, speeding up slightly.

"Nothing. I just was looking forward to having an actual conversation."

"Hn," Naruto grunted. Sakura laughed. Sasuke glared. Naruto turned to Sasuke, leveling him with his own glare.

"Sasu-kun, how come you haven't been talking to Saku-chan? She seems really bored…" Sakura laughed harder. Sasuke glared harder, beginning to growl menacingly. Naruto smirked and turned back to Sakura.

"So, Sakura-chan, since our teammate only seems capable of animal noises, what did you want to talk about?"

"I am not an animal! How dare you!" Sasuke spluttered indignantly.

"Ah, sorry. Thank you for actually saying something, Sasuke. How are you today?"

"Hn."

"Darn. He's regressed. And I finally got him to talk to us, too."

"Oh well, if he has something to say he'll say it," Sakura sighed loudly.

"Will you two stop being on my case about talking? It's annoying," Sasuke snapped.

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun."

"Yeah, sorry Sasuke. I just missed when you actually talked."

"Hn. Just don't do it again."

"I'll try to not be quite so mean. But could you please just talk to us?"

"Yeah! Please, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn. Maybe."

"Cool! Maybe I'll stop teasing you, too!"

"Fine. I'll talk to you."

"Great! So, how are you?"

"I'd be better if you left me alone, but fine."

"That's good. How 'bout you, Sakura-chan?"

"I'm fine. I wish Kashi-sensei wasn't always so late, though."

"Me too. We could do so much more training if he showed up on time," Naruto looked at Sasuke expectantly.

"Hn. That's true."

"Glad you agree. So, shall we train?"

"You bet! Cha!"

"Hn. It's better than sitting around."

* * *

It was two hours later that Kakashi arrived. He appeared on the bridge where he had told his team to meet and glanced around, finding no sign of his students. He sighed loudly and animatedly before heading into the actual training ground, where he found them sparring on the water. His eyes widened at the intense three-way match taking place above the stream, not one of the Genin slipping an inch. He hung back and watched them, marveling at how much they had improved, even after only one C-turned-A-rank. He smiled as he watched them throw vicious punches and kicks and unleash powerful jutsu. Naruto had a slight advantage with his Suiton, but Sasuke and Sakura held their ground. Their faces were contorted with focus and their eyes bright with determination. He really did like these kids. They had what it took.

"Why hello, my adorable Genin! How are you today?" Kakashi asked, stepping out from behind the trees. The Genin turned to him, eyes blazing.

"I could ask you the same, sensei. What was so fascinating that you were four hours late for our team meeting?" Sakura asked, voice nearly a growl.

"A-ah, I can explain, Sakura-chan…" Kakashi placated, trembling slightly from the pinkette's fury.

"Oh, please do."

"Ah… I was at this mandatory Jonin meeting. Mandatory, you know, can't get out of those. Sensei would pound me and…"

"I see… and this took four hours… why?"

"Shit."

"Yes sensei, be very afraid…"

"Aah! I'm sorry, Sakura! So very sorry! Please have mercy! …I'll teach you a special technique…" She tapped her foot impatiently.

"Keep talking…"

"I-it's a very powerful Doton technique I know… I think you'd be able to use it…"

"And…?"

"And?" Kakashi questioned, terrified. Sakura pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the boys and rolled her eyes. Kakashi got it immediately.

"Y-yeah, I'll teach the boys a special technique, too…" Sakura nodded briskly.

"Good. So, Naruto told us you probably had some news for us when we began sparring, but wouldn't tell us what. What's up Kakashi-sensei?"

"Oh! That's the reason behind the Jonin meeting, actually. It turns out that the Chuunin Exams are taking place in Konoha this year." Sasuke looked noticeably interested and Sakura looked mildly apprehensive. Naruto was indifferent, having already heard the news. Sakura was the one to pose the question.

"So… will we be participating?"

"No," Kakashi deadpanned. Sakura sighed in relief and Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Why in the world not?! We're the strongest team of rookies in Konoha. We could win that thing no sweat! Are you implying we're not strong enough?!" Sasuke demanded, having trouble refraining from shouting at his sensei.

"Not at all. No rookie teams will be participating this year. You'll just have to train really hard and kick ass in six months."

"No way! I'm not waiting around! I'm the heir to the Uchiha clan! Naruto's the Hokage's son! Pull some strings, dammit!" Sasuke burst out in a rare show of emotion. Kakashi sighed and Naruto shook his head and put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Kakashi-sensei's right, Sasuke. I talked with my dad; it's for the best. It's better to wait like the rest of the rookies and kick all their asses next time around than to bend the rules and then potentially endanger ourselves or embarrass ourselves. Wouldn't that be worse?"

"You don't understand a damn thing, Naruto! It doesn't matter what I risk, as long as I get stronger! Just stay out of the damn way! I'm talking to the Hokage." Sasuke attempted to shake Naruto off, but his grip was steel against his skin. Naruto chuckled, but there was no humor, as his Killing Intent began to rise in the cool air, suffocating, menacing. Sakura and Sasuke were frozen in fear, and even Kakashi was surprised, if not a little shaken. Naruto channelled a small bit off Kyuubi's chakra for added affect, bringing Sakura to her knees and causing Sasuke to tremble.

"Ha! 'Don't get in my way' you say? 'You don't understand a damn thing' you say? Bullshit. I know a damn lot more than you. If this much KI puts you in a state like this, you haven't a chance in something like the Chuunin Exams. We all need to get stronger. I will make us stronger. I won't let you risk your life needlessly. It's just your damn pride." The Killing Intent began to fade and Naruto slumped, tears slipping from his scrunched eyes. "Dammit, Sasuke, your life is more important. Sakura's life is more important. How are you gonna restore your clan's honor if you're dead? Huh? Didn't think of that, did you? Tell me Sasuke! What's more important?! Will you really throw it all away just for power?!" Naruto looked Sasuke right in the eyes for the last part, bright eyes burning, hand clasped in an iron grip on the sleeve of Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke stayed silent, looking away from them all.

"Answer me, dammit!"

"I'd do anything to achieve my goals. However, this does not involve you. I can't make that choice for you and Sakura."

"I'm glad." Naruto dropped Sasuke's sleeve and smiled sadly. "I will try my hardest to change your perception of your own life, but like you said, that is not a decision I can make for you. I appreciate your concern for Sakura-chan and I. I'm sorry I yelled. It's just… I can't stand people who would sacrifice their comrades for power. So… let's get stronger, the three of us. Let's make sure that next time, Team 7 becomes a legend!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air and Sakura followed with a cry of 'Cha!' Sasuke reluctantly joined, but broke into a hesitant smile when they dropped their hands down. Naruto and Sakura returned it, and Naruto impulsively pulled both of his teammates into a fierce hug. Sakura blushed darkly and Sasuke struggled, grunting indignantly, but Naruto held them.

"You know, I tease you guys a lot and often forget to say it, but you two mean the world to me. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you." The 'Again' was left unsaid by Naruto, but even in his mind it brought fresh tears to his eyes and he had to struggle desperately to push the guilt down. "Just don't go throwing your lives away for petty things." Sakura thought he was done, but at the end he said something more, barely a whisper, obviously not meant to be heard. She heard it anyway. "I'm sorry…" And so she hugged him back, tears in her own eyes.

"Don't be…" His eyes widened but he just held her tighter. She buried her face in his chest and cried, all her fear, insecurity, sadness, and regret for the ending of their last mission pouring out in streams from her jade-green eyes. "Don't you throw your life away, either. You can't always play hero, Naruto. Sasuke and I, we need you too, even if we don't show it. Don't leave me. Please." Naruto just nodded and they held each other for a while longer. Sasuke fidgeted nervously off to the side, not used to showing so many emotions in one day. Kakashi watched from afar as his team grew a little closer, their bond strengthening a little more after yet another challenge. 'I have a feeling nothing will ever be simple with these three, but with every bump they support each other more. And I'm beginning to think I wouldn't trade it for the world, being the sensei to Team 7. I really do love these kids. I think I understand a bit more of what Minato-sensei felt with my team… I can't wait to see how they'll grow up.'

* * *

There just had to be something that ruined Kakashi's rare good mood. Those types of things just never could last for him. Today, that inevitable destruction of fleeting happiness came wearing a green jumpsuit and sporting enormous caterpillar-like eyebrows. And it literally crashed right into his carefully-constructed wall of indifferent cheerfulness.

"KAKASHI-SAN! HOW ARE YOU ON THIS YOUTHFUL DAY?"

"Hm? Oh, Gai, is that you?"

"AS EVER, MY COOL RIVAL! YOU IGNORE MY YOUTHFUL GREETING! NO MATTER! NOW, I CHALLENGE YOU TO A YOUTHFUL DUEL!"

"Not in the mood."

"ARE YOU RUNNING AWAY, KAKASHI-SAN?"

"No. I'm just not in the mood."

"THEN I SHALL CHALLENGE YOUR TEAM! MY TEAM SHALL BATTLE YOURS AT TRAINING GROUND 9 TOMORROW AFTERNOON! I'M SURE MY YOUTHFUL APPRENTICE WILL BE DELIGHTED TO MAKE THE ACQUAINTANCE OF YOUR YOUTHFUL GENIN!"

"Whatever you say, Gai. My Genin will win, though, so be prepared."

"BEWARE, KAKASHI-SAN, MY GENIN ARE MOST YOUTHFUL!" Kakashi had heard enough and left half-way through the declaration, not finding it worth his time. Realizing Kakashi was gone, Gai deflated comically. Only a few seconds passed before he perked back up and dashed off, presumably to tell his team of the duel he had arranged.

* * *

"Alright, my lovely Genin! In today's training session, I will begin teaching you those special moves I promised you yesterday! And this afternoon you will fight another team of Genin. The team you will be fighting graduated last year. This is a way to test your skills without being in the Chuunin Exams. Just make sure you win," Kakashi cheerfully told his team.

"You seem to be in a good mood Kakashi-sensei! And you're actually on time!"

"Indeed, Naruto. I had to be on time to train you before this match."

"Alright! We won't let you down then, Kakashi-sensei! If it's important enough that you show up on time, we'll make sure to win!" Naruto shouted, excited. Sakura and Sasuke nodded enthusiastically. Kakashi eye-smiled at them and promptly created two shadow clones. The clones grabbed Sasuke and Sakura and shun-shined to different parts of the training ground, leaving Naruto with the original Kakashi. Kakashi smiled at his blonde student, who smiled back. Naruto was excited. In his original life, Kakashi hadn't taken much time to train him apart from the team, focusing on Sasuke. Now, the original Kakashi had stayed with him and was going to teach him a special technique! He tried his best to refrain from bouncing up and down. In his excitement, his chakra slipped through his control and billowed from him in great waves. He quickly pulled it back, but the damage was done. The only ones before now to know of his true chakra capacity were his parents, who taught him how to reign it in and make it seem normal. He sighed. Now he'd have to explain to his sensei that he had still been holding back.  
Kakashi's eyes were wide as his student's chakra erupted from him. He had expected high chakra, after all, the boy was an Uzumaki and the container of the Kyuubi. He hadn't expected the literal waves of chakra that rolled off of the blonde Genin. Had his student really been containing that much chakra for the whole two months they'd been a team? No wonder the kid could make so many shadow clones. He was a chakra monster! What surprised Kakashi even more than the amount of chakra, though, was the nature of the chakra. None of the chakra that leaked from the boy was the Kyuubi's and it was also not primarily Yang chakra, as he had previously expected. The boy contained the Yang half of the Fox's chakra, after all. The chakra was actually fairly well balanced, with a strong Yin portion as well. Kakashi shook his head and quickly pulled himself together. His student was starting to look put-out, and Kakashi realized he was probably staring.

"Sorry, Naruto. I didn't mean to act so surprised. I just… well let's just say it's impressive you suppressed that much chakra for so long." Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah. Hehe… My chakra just kept growing the more I learned and trained. It was getting to the point where I couldn't sit still for even five minutes, so my parents taught me to suppress it. It was out of necessity. I'm sorry I hid it from you guys… I should've trusted you."

"It's alright, Naruto, I'm not mad at all. Just surprised. And a bit impressed, I guess. Could you answer a few questions for me, though?"

"Of course, sensei."

"Okay… first of all I need to know, was that your full chakra capacity just now?" Naruto shifted uncomfortably.

"… No… I still had some chakra suppressed when I noticed and reigned it back in, and there's Kyuubi's chakra as well…"

"I see. Are you able to use all of your chakra? And how much of the Kyuubi's chakra can you use?"

"Mentally, I could probably control all of Kyuubi's chakra, but my body can probably only handle the power of six of Kyuubi's tails. I know I can wield all of my own chakra, because I train with it as much as I can. I haven't had much opportunity to train with Kyuubi 'cause, you know, I don't want to frighten the villagers."

"Yes, feeling a lot of the Fox's chakra would probably not go over well with the villagers. So, if you haven't used the Fox's chakra a lot, how do you know how much of it you could use?" Naruto sighed. 'I've told him this much, I might as well tell him the rest'

"It's Kyuubi's estimate. He's assessed the physical limits of my current body and that's what he thinks is the max power I could use. Any more would put too much stress on my chakra coils as well as my muscles." Kakashi nodded, thinking.

"You said you could probably control all or Kyuubi's chakra mentally. What did you mean by that?"

"It means that even if I push myself too far, Kyuubi won't be able to take over. I can keep control of my actions even if my body is strained from the use of too much power."

"And how do you know that?" Kakashi pushed. Naruto sighed, but continued, knowing he couldn't take back his answers now.

"Have you ever heard of a perfect Jinchuuriki?" Kakashi's eyes widened at Naruto's question, beginning to put the pieces together.

"You…"

"Yes. Better, actually. I don't just have complete control over Kurama, I actually have a pretty good relationship with him. We're friends."

"You're… friends?"

"Yep! Don't look so shocked, Kakashi-sensei. He's actually not too bad. He's a little grumpy, yes, but he's really not evil. Just lonely. Everything he did during the attack twelve years ago was a misunderstanding. He feels bad for it all."

"Really?" Kakashi asked incredulously, still not sure he believed what his student was telling him. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"You do understand that Kurama is the reason my Mom and Dad are still alive, right?" Naruto asked, unconsciously leaking a small amount of Killing Intent. Kakashi nodded, not wanting to argue with his student about this. Naruto immediately relaxed, slipping back into his signature grin easily, however his next question still had a malicious undertone.

"Any more questions?" Kakashi didn't want to face Naruto's wrath, but he really wanted to know what his answer would be.

"Just one. What did you mean when you called the Fox Kurama?"

"It's his name. You really thought his name was 'Kyuubi no Kitsune'?"

"No. Just clarifying."

"Okay. So, what's this special move?" Naruto asked, immediately back to his usual cheerfulness. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. Naruto really was the kind of person who could become friends with anyone. He supposed he should give him the benefit of the doubt.

"It's a powerful Suiton technique that I copied from Zabuza. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to pull it off. You definitely have enough chakra. I'll show you, and you can try and replicate what I do. The Jutsu name is Suiton: Water Dragon and the hand-seals are rat, bird, tiger, serpent, ram, serpent, monkey, dragon, ox, serpent, bird." Naruto nodded after Kakashi's explanation and stood at the ready, observing Kakashi closely. Kakashi flew through the hand seals, Naruto following closely behind. Both shouted out 'Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu' and two dragons rose simultaneously from the river. Kakashi's dragon was long and sleek, moving quickly and gracefully through the air. Naruto's was large, shimmering and shifting, spurting water in random directions as it writhed. Naruto sighed disappointedly and dropped the jutsu, the water merging back into the river with a large splash. Kakashi, too, released his jutsu and turned to Naruto.

"Don't worry about not getting it perfect right away. I'm amazed you managed any form of this jutsu on your first try." Naruto nodded and looked at the ground.

"Even so, I should be better. Sakura-chan and Sasuke are counting on me. And so are you. I don't want to be the one who let's you all down…" Kakashi was silent for a bit after Naruto's declaration before he smiled.

"You know the secret of shadow clones, right?" Kakashi asked Naruto. Naruto nodded.

"I've been using it for years to improve my chakra control and study books I didn't have the time to read, among other things. I have five clones at home practicing Fuinjutsu right now, actually."

"Good! Then why don't you leave some clones here to practice this jutsu and come do some Hiraishin practice with me. I want you to start practicing using it in combat. Experience is everything, you know." Naruto nodded again, creating 30 clones.

"Hey everyone! You guys are here to practice Suiton: Water Dragon. Have fun! Oh, and please remember to replace any of yourselves that dispel," Naruto told his clones happily. They all gave him thumbs ups. Kakashi watched the interaction in fascination, surprised that Naruto actually interacted like that with his shadow clones. Naruto then turned back to Kakashi and they shun-shined away from the clones and immediately began to spar, using only taijutsu. And Hiraishin in Naruto's case, since that was what he was training in. Both Shinobi were blurs as they traded blow after blow.

* * *

Kakashi's clone, with his hand on Sakura's shoulder, appeared in a clearing on the opposite side of the training field.

"Alright! So I'll be teaching you a jutsu that will increase your strength even further. It may seem boorish, but it's actually pretty delicate. Your background in medical ninjutsu will definitely help. It's hard to achieve this technique because it is fairly risky. The technique is called Doton: Rock Fist. It turns one of your hands into a large fist of rock, as the name implies. However it's trickier than it seems. You see, if you harden too much of your fist it could shatter on impact and you'd lose an arm. Your medical ninjutsu will help regulate the depth of the hardening and keep that from happening. Come, let's get started." Sakura nodded apprehensively and crouched next to Kakashi as he began to show her the beginnings of the technique.

* * *

When Kakashi and Sasuke reappeared, Sasuke was already beginning to throw a punch at Kakashi.

"Why you! Don't just grab me and disappear you bastard! Give me some sort of warning!"

"You had a warning. I'm a clone, you saw me being made. A good ninja would've already reacted in that moment," the clone sighed dramatically. Sasuke continued to curse loudly as he chased the clone, attacking relentlessly. It was only later that he realized the clone had only used one jutsu during the entire spar: Katon: Great Dragon Flame. The clone had also used it fairly slowly and in clear view of his Sharingan. He quickly made the connection and felt the need to slap his forehead at his obliviousness. Then he smirked. Kakashi was cleverer than he'd given him credit for.

* * *

Later that afternoon, three freshly-fed and slightly tired Genin arrived at Training Ground 9, smirking and ready to win.

* * *

A/N: GOMENASAI, MINNA! I'm a very bad Author-san. I'm so sorry for just up and disappearing for three months, but I'm back with my longest chapter yet. I also apologize for skipping the end of the wave arc, but honestly that arc has started to bore me, and I covered the most important things already anyway. I have given hints as to what happened in this chapter. I'd like to see what scenarios you put together from what I've told you (If you have an idea, tell me. I read PMs and reviews). I hope you enjoyed this long-overdue chapter of Protector!

 **IMPORTANT NOTE: I have put up a poll on my profile asking you, my readers, what you would like to read next. Also on my profile is a list of my current stories and story ideas. I want your feedback on what you'd like me to post/update soonest. I'd really love your input! However I understand if it takes too much time and that's totally fine. But if you have a spare moment, please tell me what you'd like. That way I can write what you want to read!**

And please leave me a review if you have comments or questions! :D

-Ayame77


	7. Preliminary Motions

Team 7 approached the training ground with confidence, matching smirks on their faces. They were nearly strutting the last few feet before they stopped in front of the team they were to fight. Naruto's smile immediately faltered and he looked down. 'Why, of all the teams out there, why did it have to be this team? I can't fight them… I can't hurt them… why do I have to meet them as adversaries? Is this the price of gaining the power I have? Losing my friends? …Not that I ever really gained them in this life to begin with…'

"NARUTO!" Sakura shouted, slapping his face, "snap out of it, you idiot! What the hell are you doing?!" She crossed her arms and huffed, but Naruto saw the worry shining in her eyes.

"I…" he started.

"Don't tell me… you're scared dobe?" Sasuke interrupted condescendingly. Naruto immediately bristled, all reservations gone. Sasuke had always had that effect on him.

"Hell no, teme! I was just feeling bad that we'd be beating up people we'd never met!" Naruto shouted, annoyed. Sure this Sasuke was more tolerable than the old one, but he could still be an ass.

"How are you so sure that you rookies will beat us? My team is fated to win this battle," Neji butted in, pissed that this brat would dare to speak that way about him and his team. Tenten groaned at her teammate's antics and Lee began doing push-ups. Not even he was sure why. Naruto sighed. 'I forgot. Neji still believes that fate crap right now. And I won't be in the Chuunin Exams to beat some sense into him… I guess this is the perfect opportunity, then…'

"Fate? Don't give me that crap! The outcome of this battle hasn't been decided yet! There's no such thing as fate! We all carve our own paths! And I'll make sure my team wins!" Naruto proclaimed, knowing that Neji wouldn't believe him until he proved it. 'I guess I have to go all-out…'

"Nonsense. You are just struggling futilely against your fate. Accept it and move forward," Neji responded.

"Like hell I will!" Naruto roared, slipping into his Taijutsu stance. Sasuke and Sakura did the same and Team Gai followed their lead. The two teams sized each other up, glaring, and Kakashi, who had hung back to observe his team, stepped forward.

"Alright everyone, it looks like you're all eager to begin, so let's get down to business. Three…" Kakashi began counting down, "two…" Naruto's eyes met Sakura's, then Sasuke's, "one…" his eyes shifted to Team Gai, "begin!" Naruto disappeared. Everyone on the battlefield stood in shock, searching frantically around. Neji activated his Byakugan and methodically scanned around the wide clearing and the thick forest around it. What he found only left him more stunned.

"Did you find him?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah… thousands of him…" Neji replied.

"What?! How are there thousands of him? Your Byakugan can see through clones, right?"

"Of course. However those are all solid." Tenten's eye began twitching.

"Just who is this guy?" Tenten muttered, annoyed.

Seeing their distraction, Sasuke began to rush in, already weaving hand signs for a fire jutsu. Just as he was about to reach them, a tree fell right between them. Both he and Team Gai jumped back at the last minute, barely avoiding being crushed. More trees began to fall in the area and Sasuke jumped further back, cursing.

"Damn that Naruto! What the hell is he thinking?!"

"I'm not sure…" said Sakura, observing the battle carefully. Sasuke stood next to her, fuming.

"I swear I'll beat him senseless when this is over… stupid dobe!"

"Sasuke-kun… look at how they move… they're very skilled Taijutsu users."

"Hn." Sasuke looked back towards the battle, looking for an opening to attack, but they were jumping around too quickly. Neji's Byakugan allowed them to easily dodge all of the trees, but the consistent pacing of the attacks left them no room to go on the offensive. Soon, waves of kunai and wind blades joined the toppling trees, leaving Team Gai dodging constantly without a moment to breathe.

"It doesn't matter that you can see all my attacks, you still can't keep up," the disembodied voice of Naruto rang through the clearing, "forfeit now."

"No way!" the scratched and bruised Tenten shouted, whipping out one of her scrolls. Before she could unleash the weapons inside it, another wave of kunai, wind blades, and trees crashed toward them and it was back to dodging. She swore and Neji's Byakugan eyes narrowed. Lee, meanwhile, was having the time of his life, dodging and flipping and batting weapons out of the air, not the least bit angry. Sasuke stood to the side, arms crossed and scowling.

"That dobe is crazy," he declared. Sakura stayed silent, not sure whether to agree or be impressed. Naruto was, after all, pushing an entire team of genin a year older than them on his own. At her silence, Sasuke's scowl deepened. Both their eyes remained trained on the battle. The rhythm of Naruto's attacks stayed the same for another ten minutes and Team Gai looked ragged and exhausted, panting and bruised. It was then that three Narutos stepped out from the trees and with a series of pops and a cloud of smoke, the rest dispelled. The three Narutos simultaneously sped through hand-signs and then clapped their hands together. The felled trees began to float towards them, seemingly pulled by invisible strings.

"Fuuton: Suspension," all three chanted in sink, and the logs flew at Team Gai, slamming into them and returning to float by the casters, ready to attack again.

"Surrender," the center Naruto commanded steadily, looking each opponent in the eye. All three shook their heads.

"Never," Tenten ground out through her teeth. Naruto sighed hopelessly and readied his trees to fly toward them again, but Lee suddenly had a burst of energy and sped at him. Naruto blocked his kick with the nearest felled tree, which shattered on impact.

"Kaimon: kai! Kyumon: kai!" Lee screamed, coming in with another kick towards Naruto's chest. Naruto ducked but swore when Lee's leg dropped down on his back. He rolled out of reach, created 20 clones, and sped towards his teammates. 'Shit! I was trying to avoid a Taijutsu match. I may have to release all my weights and make use of my full speed.' Halfway to where his teammates were standing, Lee appeared in front of him, two clones in pursuit. Naruto sighed defeatedly and clasped his hands in a ram seal while his clones distracted Lee.

"Time to get serious. Kai!" Naruto felt the weight drop away from his body in an instant and he pulled out two tri-pronged kunai, holding them in front of him in reverse grip. Naruto hesitated for a second, looking between the remaining members of Team Gai and his team.

"Sakura! Sasuke! Keep the other two occupied!" Naruto ordered, gaze hardening. Sakura nodded and Sasuke's scowl deepened but he took his stance.

"Who said you could order me around, dobe?" he shot over his shoulder, glaring, but grudgingly drew his kunai. Naruto simply shrugged and turned his attention back to Lee who had finished disposing of the clones and was turning to face to him. Lee bowed formally and then grinned widely. Naruto bowed back and smirked, beginning to get excited. Then Lee charged in and the two began a fierce Taijutsu back and forth, zooming around the clearing at inhuman speeds. Naruto thought frantically as they exchanged punch after punch. He didn't want to seriously hurt Lee, but he needed to win this. An idea came to him and he created a few clones and they each began forming hand-signs for different jutsu. Naruto threw a strong punch at Lee, purposely overextending and Lee took the bait, grabbing Naruto's arm and flipping him over his shoulder. At the last moment, Naruto threw a kunai and appeared behind his clones, just as they sent their jutsu at the confused Lee. Lee dodged the water bullet but was cut by the invisible wind blades, then felt his feet grabbed and his body submerged in dirt. Naruto stood victoriously above him, dusting off his clothes. He then bent down and chopped the back of Lee's neck, knocking him out.

"Sorry, Lee," he whispered to the unconscious boy before pulling him from the ground and binding him to a tree with ninja wire, "I've been training with the infamous Copy-Ninja. That head-hunter jutsu is one of his favorites." Naruto then turned to check on his teammates. He saw Sakura engaging Tenten in close combat and overpowering her completely, to the point that Tenten was struggling to stand. He new it was unfair because Tenten's strength was in long-range combat and that she was already tired, but he couldn't help but feel proud of Sakura. He shot her a quick thumbs-up when she glanced at him and jumped in to help Sasuke, who was having trouble with Neji. He knew this was also unfair, since Neji was the strongest on Team Gai and also the least injured due to his ability to see the wind blades, but such was ninja life, and they needed to defeat Neji to win. Sasuke glared as Naruto landed next to him and shot a wind blade at Neji, which was dodged expertly.

"Dobe! What the hell are you doing? I can take him myself!" Sasuke roared, turning on Naruto with his hands ready to weave signs. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Later, Sasuke. First we've got to beat him," Naruto responded, hooking a thumb at Neji. Sasuke's eyes didn't lose their angry fire, but he turned back towards Neji.

"Okay Hyuuga bastard, I'm going to take you out quickly so I can fight this idiot teammate of mine. Prepare yourself," Sasuke declared. Neji's hands were shaking with rage as he clenched them into fists.

"How dare you, you damned Uchiha! I will defeat you here and now! I am the fated winner of this battle!" Neji screamed, his cold exterior crumbling away as they both activated their bloodlines and sprinted at each other. Naruto shook his head hopelessly and threw his Hiraishin kunai between the two of them, appearing and blocking both of their attacks as if they were nothing. His eyes blazed scarlet. He slapped a seal tag on each of them and made a ram seal, his hands a blur.

"Gravity seal: fuin," he said, voice firm, quiet, commanding. Sasuke and Neji both collapsed on the ground, unable to move, glaring at him, "I don't care how much you want to win, don't use techniques that could in a practice match." With that, he whipped out another spool of ninja wire, dragged the immobilized Neji to the tree Lee was tied to, and bound him. He saw Tenten already bound on Lee's other side and Sakura standing proudly a little ways off, looking slightly tired but otherwise fine. He smirked.

"I win," he announced, "and I didn't need fate to do it." Then he clasped his hands in the ram seal again, raising Neji's gravity until he blacked out and then releasing it. He dropped his hands to his sides before glancing disgustedly at Sasuke, who was still on the ground trying desperately to push himself up.

"I expected better from you, Sasuke," Naruto sighed, "just a teammate stepping in to help, a single taunt from your opponent, and you're already angry enough to kill. He's still a comrade from the leaf, you know." Naruto once again clasped his hands in tha ram seal and released the gravity on Sasuke, who stayed silent, walking slowly away from Naruto. Naruto then turned to where Kakashi and Gai were observing and strode quickly toward them.

"Kakashi-sensei," he said, then turned and inclined his head to Gai, "I don't think we've met before, sensei. I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Gai grinned and gave Naruto a thumbs-up, teeth sparkling blindingly.

"I AM MIGHT GAI, MY YOUTHFUL BOY! I MUST SAY, THAT YOUTHFUL MATCH WAS QUITE IMPRESSIVE!" Gai shouted excitedly, shaking Naruto's hand vigorously. Naruto shook back, grip firm, before extracting his hand. Kakashi's questioning gaze was starting to get to him.

"What's up, Kakashi-sensei?"

"I think we need to have a private talk, Naruto," Kakashi said seriously. Naruto shivered slightly but nodded. Kakashi and Naruto walked across the clearing in a slightly tense silence before sitting down on a felled tree trunk at the edge of the clearing. Kakashi asked Naruto to erect a sound barrier, which he did quickly.

"So…" Naruto trailed off, looking expectantly at Kakashi.

"I have a few questions. First of all, most people are at least a little uncomfortable during their first encounter with Might Gai, but you weren't. Why?" Naruto shifted anxiously, looking down, but when he looked up his face looked just as confident as usual.

"Uncomfortable? Of course I was uncomfortable. Why do you think I started talking to you right after his introduction?" Naruto chuckled nervously at the end of his explanation, and Kakashi nodded, accepting it.

"Question two: why did you stop Sasuke and Neji, the Hyuuga boy?"

"The Hyuuga, Neji, was building up chakra in his palm and aiming for Sasuke's heart. Sasuke was running through one-handed seals behind his back…"

"One-handed seals?!" Kakashi cut in, visible eye wide.

"Yeah. He decided to learn them after meeting Haku, thought it was cool or something. Anyway, he was going through the seals for one of his more powerful Katon, which could be incredibly destructive at close-range. They were seriously trying to kill each other, sensei, so I had to do something," Naruto said solemnly.

"I see," Kakashi replied, just as solemn.

"I was hoping you'd talk to Sasuke. I think he'll listen to you more than me right now. Maybe you could also ask Gai-sensei to talk to this Neji? Comrades should protect and help each other, not try to kill each other."

"I'll see what I can do. Thank you, Naruto." Kakashi eye-smiled, beginning to stand up.

"No problem!" Naruto said, also standing up and stretching, "Hey, sensei?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"However I act, I really love Team 7. It's like my second family. I want Sasuke to be happy, even if I have to beat sense into him before he understands. Please help him."

"I'll do my best, Naruto," Kakashi replied, and meant it.

"Thanks, Kashi-sensei! See ya!" Naruto shouted, smiling broadly as he sprinted toward Sakura, who was healing the members of Team Gai. Kakashi sighed at the nickname, but smiled fondly as he watched Naruto interact with Sakura. 'I love Team 7 too, Naruto. I really do.'

––––

The lighting was almost non-existent and the air was musty. The sparse candles flickered menacingly with red flames, and the toad sitting cramped in a crack in the wall wanted to be anywhere but here. Still, this was his job, and he needed this information even more than he wanted fresh air, a few flies, and a puddle. The toad silenced his thoughts as a new presence entered the room and the man in the chair began to speak.

"The young Uchiha won't be participating in the exams?"

"No, sir."

"You've confirmed it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well that certainly does throw a wrench in our plans. This attack will not be quite as simple as I thought. Still, we must have the Uchiha boy. Not just any specimen will do, you know. Sasuke-kun… I want you to come to me on your own… but a push may still be necessary."

"Sir?"

"Get me Kabuto."

"Yes, sir."

The toad disappeared in a small puff of white smoke, its job completed. Miles away, Jiraiya the Toad Sage swore and began rapidly packing his stuff, having to return to Konoha on urgent business.

––––

A/N: Aaaah! I've done it again! I haven't updated in months! Gaaah! Gomenasai! Gomenasai! Gomenasai! O Yurushikudasai! *bowing on hands and knees and begging you* Please forgive me! Anyway, much later than intended but finally here: chapter 7 of Protector! Yay! Thank you to all those who reviewed and encouraged me to keep writing this! You guys rock! If I get enough requests (and suggestions) I may write a short omake that I can get out quickly so you guys have something in-between this chapter and the next, since it may be a while. School is starting again and this year is even busier for me than last… we'll see what happens. Anyway, enjoy the (short) chapter!

Reviews, favorites, follows, and PMs are appreciated!

All the best!  
–Ayame77


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